About half of all cases of HIV infection after transfusion with contaminated blood that have been recorded in Europe took place in France, where the infection rate is estimated to be four to six times higher than in Italy, Germany, and Spain, and 10 times higher than in the United Kingdom.
Why does France have so many more cases than some other European countries, and are government officials responsible for the situation? These are the major questions facing the judges in the trial that started last Tuesday of three former ministers on charges of involuntary homicide.
It is the first time that the High Court of Justice is meeting; it was created in 1993 to try high government officials. Twelve of the judges are senators and parliamentary deputies, and only three are professional magistrates.
Attorney general Jean-Franåois Burgelin represents the public prosecutor, although in the past, he has requested dismissal of the case against the ministers.
The accused are Laurent Fabius, former prime minister, now a socialist deputy; Georgina Dufois, former minister of social affairs and national solidarity, now retired from political life; and her former secretarary of state for health, Edmond Hervé, now mayor of Rennes.
All three are charged with delaying for commercial reasons the use of an American blood screening test. Mr Hervé and Mrs Dufoix are also charged with delaying heat inactivation of the HIV and knowingly authorising the distribution of untreated blood products. In addition, Mr Hervé is charged with allowing blood collection in high risk environments, such as prisons, after the risk was known.
There are only two plaintiffs; 345 had lodged a complaint, seven were retained by the court, and five of these have died. Plaintiffs are not represented by attorneys and can be heard only as witnesses.
About 70 witnesses will be called; many of them are doctors and scientists, such as Dr Luc Montagnier, who discovered HIV.
The finding of guilty of involuntary homicide can carry a maximum sentence of three years' imprisonment and a fine of Fr300000 (about £31500.) The trial is expected to last several weeks.
Figure.
Former secretary of state for health Edmond Hervé arriving at court