The masks of the Cab have not finished fueling the controversy

A health issue on the eve of deconfinement, the masks distributed by the Cab quickly became an element of the municipal campaign. In the background, the battle between two lists, represented on one side by Pierre Savelli, the mayor of Bastia and François Tatti, then president of the Cab. Unpreparedness, haste, clientelist argument, in each camp, the intentions were hardly masked: to occupy the ground and to fuel the controversy around the conformity or not of these 60,000 pieces ordered in the emergency.

Within the Bastia urban area, and particularly in the corridors of the town hall, a real trial against these washable fabric masks “made in France” has started. And since then, the episodes have followed one another. The latest: the new presidency of the Cab, embodied by Louis Pozzo di Borgo, elected nationalist, asked the population to “do not use these masks”. A decision taken after reading the conclusions of the study conducted by the accredited laboratory Liten, at the request of the Cab, which declared “insufficient” the level of protection of the masks (see our Tuesday edition). Washable masks which, it should be remembered, were usable for a period of one month and have therefore been obsolete ever since.

The supplier still not paid

Some of this equipment intended for citizens has remained “confined” to the premises of the city, others are now declared non-compliant with regard to the interministerial information note of March 29, 2020 relating to the new categories of reserved masks. for non-sanitary purposes. It sets a filtration level required for particles of 70%, but the product manufactured by the company Néologik only meets 27%. These conclusions therefore reinforce the doubts expressed upon receipt of the goods by the Bastia municipal majority but which do not however answer all the questions raised by this file. Was there a misunderstanding of the product or deception of the merchandise?

At the heart of a political affair despite himself …

To address this subject, outside the local political context, it is on the Perpignan side that the answers have been found. It all started in the premises of the company Neologik SARL Bunda, specialized in the manufacture of tailor-made sportswear, created about fifteen years ago. “I didn’t ask anyone for anything, says Julien Pit, director of the structure. The Cab came to find us. The whole of France was experiencing a shortage of masks. The LRA told us to make masks to help and participate in the war effort. They were sold for 1 euro each with no intention of making a profit on them “, argues the one who employs six people and finds himself in spite of himself, at the heart of a political affair which costs him for the moment the modest sum of 60,000 euros!

Indeed, since the delivery of the masks, spread over several weeks since April, no invoice has been paid to his company. “The orders have yet been placed and the quotes validated. If the masks had not agreed, it would have been sufficient to send them back to us”. The company manager gave notice to the community to pay him the amount due, considering that the order was in accordance with the estimate. The former presidency of the Cab, for its part, was awaiting the conformity tests requested from the company.

On social networks, the company delivers a very particular vision of the characteristics of this “alternative” mask: “It is designed for the protection of others and not for its own person. This is why it is recommended that the entire population be equipped with it”. She clarifies about this duckbill mask “do not confuse compliance with air permeability and compliance with three micron projections”. By its weight and its seamless construction at the front, the “Afnor approved” product would fall into this category.

Legal action initiated

However, at no time has the Directorate-General for Armaments, whose mission is to measure the particle filtration efficiency of the samples of masks sent by manufacturers, has studied masks manufactured in this workshop in Perpignan before their sale.

Director’s response: “It was not relevant then. We were not even asked for labeling. It was done in a hurry. Perhaps this mask did not meet certain expectations but nothing was wrong. ‘was done against Corsica. It’s only politics, I had no other problem with the other communities“.

The company continues to manufacture masks for the general public, without communicating the “anti-covid” mention in its sales pitch. “at the request of the fraud control service”, explained the manager. Precision of size …

Contacted, the new governance of the Cab did not wish to communicate, explaining that legal action had just been initiated.

In a recent statement, the mayors of Bastia, Furiani, San Martinu di Lota, Santa Maria di Lota and the City of Pietrabugno read the report of tests carried out on the “barrier” masks provided by the Cab in the month of April 2020 therefore ask the population not to use them.

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