Notice of application before Court concerning compulsory vaccination of certain workers imposed by French law on health crisis
NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO THE GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE
SUMMARY
The European Court of Human Rights notified the French Government of the application in Thevenon v. France (App. No. 46061/21) and requested observations on its admissibility and merits. The case concerns the compulsory vaccination against COVID-19 imposed on certain professions as in the case of the fire service, according to the law of 5 August 2021 on the management of the health crisis.
PROVISION
Article 8
PRINCIPAL FACTS
The applicant, Pierrick Thevenon, is a French national who was born in 1988. The application was
lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 10 September 2021.
The case concerns the compulsory Covid vaccination imposed on Mr Thevenon, on account of his
activity as a professional firefighter, on the basis of Law no. 2021-1040 of 5 August 2021 on the
management of the health crisis.
Section 12 of this law lists the persons subject to compulsory vaccination against Covid-19, except
where there is a recognised medical impediment, which is imposed either because of the type of
establishment in which they work, or because of their occupation, as in the case of firefighters. From
15 September 2021 (deadline extended to 15 October for persons who, as part of a vaccination
schedule comprising several doses, can prove that they have received at least one of the required
doses, provided that they present a negative test result), the professionals concerned are no longer
allowed to do their job if they have not fulfilled the obligation to present their certificate of
vaccination status showing that they are fully vaccinated. In such cases, they can use paid leave with
the agreement of their employer. Otherwise they are suspended from their duties or their
employment contract, which means that their pay is stopped, for as long as they fail to fulfil the
compulsory vaccination conditions.
Complaints
Relying on Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the Convention, taken separately
and in combination with Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination), and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
(protection of property), Mr Thevenon complains that he is subject to the occupation-based
compulsory vaccination under Law no. 2021-1040 of 5 August 2021 and also that his refusal to be
vaccinated against Covid-19 has led, since 15 September 2021, to the suspension of his professional
activity and the total stoppage of his salary.
Proceedings before the Court
The Court put the following questions to the parties and asked the French Government to provide it
with its observations by 27 January 2022:
“1. Has the applicant exhausted domestic remedies, as required by Article 35 § 1 of the Convention?
2. In view of the compulsory vaccination imposed on the applicant, under Law no. 2021-1040 of
5 August 2021 on the management of the health crisis, based on his professional activity, has there
been a breach of his right to respect for his private life within the meaning of Article 8 § 1 of the
Convention?
3. Has the applicant been a victim, in the exercise of his Convention rights, of discrimination based
on his occupation that would be in breach of Article 14 of the Convention taken together with
Article 8 of the Convention? In particular, has the applicant sustained a difference in treatment in
that, unlike other workers, he is obliged to get vaccinated, and in that his refusal to do so within the
time-limit has allegedly led to the suspension of his professional activity and the stoppage of his pay
from 15 September 2021 onwards?
4. In the circumstances of the present case, in view of the alleged suspension of the payment of the
applicant’s salary on account of his refusal to get vaccinated, as imposed by Law no. 2021-1040 of
5 August 2021, has there been a breach of his right to the enjoyment of his possessions within the
meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1?
The subject matter of the case and the questions put to the parties are available (in French only) on
the Court’s website (Hudoc).
Court’s decision on interim measure request
The Court would point out that, on 19 August 2021, it received an interim measure request from 672
firefighters, including Mr Thevenon, in which the applicants asked, among other things, for a
suspension of the compulsory vaccination imposed by the Law of 5 August 2021.
On 24 August 2021 the Court rejected this request, finding that it was out of scope of Rule 39 of its
Rules of Court (interim measures). The request had been examined under the case name
Abgrall and 671 Others v. France (n° 41950/21). Link to press release.
Other cases pending before the Court
712 other applicants have expressed their intention to lodge applications with the Court on the
same issue. The Court has informed them of the requisite formalities.
