French families who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus are questioning the government's legal responsibility in court, with 63 complaints filed against officials, including Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Health Minister Olivier Véran, for failure to protect the public.
The complaints target the government's handling of Covid-19, amid criticism that it failed to deliver sufficient personal protective equipment to frontline health workers.
The bereaved wife of a doctor who died of Covid-19 told French daily 20 Minutes that her husband would still be alive today if he had been given the necessary equipment.
She has lodged a complaint against the hospital where her husband worked and also against the health minister and his predecessor Agnès Buzyn for endangering the lives of others.
Other charges being filed before France's Court of Justice include manslaughter, failing to assist a person in danger, and failing to take timely action to contain the epidemic.