Question 4573 — health

Summary

Mr. Charles Alloncle draws the attention of the Minister to the Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families, responsible for health and access to care, to the sudden and unjustified cancellation of a public contract for FFP2 masks by Public Health France (SPF), endangering an industrial company in Hérault and contributing to weakening the strategy for reestablishing national health sovereignty. In October 2024, following a rigorous call for tenders aimed at renewing the entire French strategic stock of masks, a group of French companies was awarded lot 3 for the supply of 60 million FFP2 masks. This market, representing a total of 9 million euros in turnover, including 6 million for the company in question, guaranteed the latter a stable volume of activity until 2028. It at the same time consolidated a major emerging player in the French personal protective equipment sector. However, after an appeal filed by a competitor not meeting the initial criteria of the call for tenders (namely, the absence of subcontracting in order to favor production in France), SPF first confirmed its choice, before canceling the contract in January 2025, citing unjustified “doubts” about the regularity of supply. This about-face, without transparency or precise justification, plunges the company concerned into a critical situation: with 3 million euros already invested, it risks no longer being able to honor its financial commitments, leading in the short term to layoffs, cancellations of hiring (12 jobs eliminated immediately, 50 positions threatened in the medium term) and the abandonment of industrial innovation projects. Beyond the local economic impact, this decision threatens the French mask manufacturing sector, considered strategic since the health crisis of 2020. Indeed, the 60 million masks concerned represent the equivalent of 20% of the country's strategic stocks. Furthermore, several companies in the sector have already closed or are in serious difficulty due to lack of state support and visibility on public orders. If this dynamic were to continue, France would risk becoming dependent on imports again in the event of a new crisis. He therefore asks him to specify the real reasons leading to this cancellation and to indicate what measures the Government intends to take to guarantee the transparency and stability of strategic public procurement; he also requests an emergency meeting between ministerial services and managers of the company concerned in order to examine solutions to preserve employment, investment and the future of this essential sector.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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