Some French officials suspended from work after drug tests

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu ordered some officials whose drug tests came back positive to be suspended from work.

"Yes, after positive drug tests," he said in an interview with Paris Match magazine in response to the question, without specifying how many civil servants were suspended or from which departments.

The head of government promised that drug testing among officials would continue and expressed hope that the next prime minister would also keep the issue under control. He explained that he had decided to conduct the checks to set an example, but also because of the "vulnerability" of government bodies.

"Members of ministerial staffs and most senior officials have access to extremely confidential information. Using drugs means being vulnerable," he stressed.

The newspaper Le Parisien first reported in mid-June on mandatory tests for banned substances among employees of the French government. According to the paper, Lecornu instructed ministers to carry out surprise checks among employees of their departments, while tests were conducted directly in the prime minister's office at the beginning of the month. In addition to the ministries, the checks were also to cover all officials appointed by decision of the council of ministers. However, the government said it would not publish the results, citing the protection of officials' privacy.

According to Le Monde, even before the mass checks, several officials were suspended at the beginning of the year, including one of Lecornu's own advisers. The second known case involves a senior employee of the administration of the capital region of Île-de-France, who after some time was appointed to a position in the General Directorate of Public Finances at the French Ministry of Economy and Finance.