Prosecutor opens inquiry into France's handling of virus crisis

PARIS: The chief prosecutor of Paris said Tuesday that he had opened a probe into the French state's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, with possible charges including "involuntary homicide" and "endangering life".

The investigation, which comes after complaints were filed by civil groups and members of the public, is not aimed at determining "political or administrative responsibility," Remy Heitz told AFP, but whether national decision-makers had committed "possible criminal offences".

President Emmanuel Macron, as head of state, has immunity from prosecution and is not a target of the inquiry, nor are government ministers who can be held accountable only by the Republican Court of Justice, an administrative tribunal, which has itself received 80 complaints, Heitz said.