Politics. Destruction of contraceptives: LFI calls for the government to requisition the stock

La France Insoumise announced this Sunday that it was submitting a motion for a resolution to the Assembly requesting that the government requisition the stock of female contraceptives that the American administration has decided to destroy , possibly on French soil.

Committed to drastic cuts in its humanitarian aid and an anti-abortion policy, the Trump administration confirmed in mid-July that it wanted to "destroy certain abortive contraceptive products from USAID contracts."

Cremation planned in France

According to several media outlets, these contraceptives, worth nearly $10 million, are being stored in a warehouse in Geel, Belgium, and are scheduled for incineration in France. "The French government has still not communicated the intended location of destruction," LFI laments in a press release, which also regrets that it "refuses to activate existing law, even though the Public Health Code authorizes the requisition of 'all goods and services' if 'the health situation justifies it'." La France Insoumise believes that the destruction of these contraceptives "will endanger hundreds of thousands of women around the world, to whom this stockpile was promised."

The Ministry of Health explained to AFP on Friday that there was "no legal basis allowing intervention by a European health authority, and a fortiori by the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM), to recover these medical devices."

“Develop the legal framework if necessary”

LFI therefore announces that it will submit "a proposed resolution demanding that the government requisition all US contraceptive supplies circulating on our territory."

The rebellious parliamentary group stated that it was "obviously available to sit urgently and in an extraordinary manner, in order to change the legal framework if necessary." The announcement of this destruction sparked an outcry, particularly in France. Feminist associations, trade unions, and human rights activists denounced it as an "economic waste" and a "senseless" decision.

Marine Tondelier , leader of the Green Party, called on President Emmanuel Macron in an open letter to prevent the destruction of these contraceptives. The Socialist Party also urged him not to "be an accomplice in this health and political disaster."