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HEALTH

Women to sue France over faulty implants

A dozen French women who have received faulty PIP breast implants say they want to sue the state for its failure to reimburse them for breast replacement surgery.

Women to sue France over faulty implants
Webphotographeer (File)

French authorities are only reimbursing the removal and replacement of PIP implants for women who received the implants for medical reasons. Women who chose to get breast implants for cosmetic reasons will not be reimbursed for replacement surgery.

Speaking on French radio Europe 1, one of the women said the different treatment is tantamount to discrimation.

“I don’t understant why there are so-called real victims on the one hand and bad victims on the other,” said Valerie, one of the women who wants to sue the state.

“I was extremely flat-chested and suffered from all sorts of problems, an image problem, depression, things like that. When I had the operation, things got a lot better for me.”

French implant manufacturer PIP was closed down by health authorities after they discovered the firm was using non-medical silicone gel in implants which were twice as likely to rupture as other products in the same category.

While it is feared that the silicone gel used in the PIP implants is linked to cancer, French health authorities have not been able to establish a link.

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POLITICS

France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

France has vowed to prevent a trade deal between the European Union and the South American Mercosur bloc from being signed with its current terms, as the country is rocked by farmer protests.

France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

The trade deal, which would include agricultural powers Argentina and Brazil, is among a litany of complaints by farmers in France and elsewhere in Europe who have been blocking roads to demand better conditions for their sector.

They fear it would further depress their produce prices amid increased competition from exporting nations that are not bound by strict and costly EU environmental laws.

READ ALSO Should I cancel my trip to France because of farmers’ protests?

“This Mercosur deal, as it stands, is not good for our farmers. It cannot be signed as is, it won’t be signed as is,” Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told broadcasters CNews and Europe 1.

The European Commission acknowledged on Tuesday that the conditions to conclude the deal with Mercosur, which also includes Paraguay and Uruguay, “are not quite there yet”.

The talks, however, are continuing, the commission said.

READ ALSO 5 minutes to understand French farmer protests

President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France opposes the deal because it “doesn’t make Mercosur farmers and companies abide by the same rules as ours”.

The EU and the South American nations have been negotiating since 2000.

The contours of a deal were agreed in 2019, but a final version still needs to be ratified.

The accord aims to cut import tariffs on – mostly European – industrial and pharmaceutical goods, and on agricultural products.

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