French Court Slaps 2.7 Mln Euro Fine on Maker of ‘Death Drug’

A French court found pharma giant Servier guilty of aggravated fraud and involuntary manslaughter in the Mediator case. (AFP)
A French court found pharma giant Servier guilty of aggravated fraud and involuntary manslaughter in the Mediator case. (AFP)
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French Court Slaps 2.7 Mln Euro Fine on Maker of ‘Death Drug’

A French court found pharma giant Servier guilty of aggravated fraud and involuntary manslaughter in the Mediator case. (AFP)
A French court found pharma giant Servier guilty of aggravated fraud and involuntary manslaughter in the Mediator case. (AFP)

A decade after the so-called “Mediator scandal”, a court in Paris announced its final verdict against the Servier Laboratoires and the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM).

The court stated that the Mediator drug made by Servier caused the death of 3,000 women from heart failure. The court found the drugmaker guilty of fraud for hiding the side effects of Mediator licensed as a diabetes treatment, while over five million women used it as an appetite suppressant to lose weight.

Servier Laboratoires was fined 2.7 million euros but cleared of its charges for fraud.

Sylvie Daunis, who presided over the ruling, said: “Despite the knowledge they had of the risks incurred for many years, they never took the necessary measures and thus deceived consumers of Mediator.” She added that the company undermined confidence in the French health system.

The company's chairman, Jacques Servier died in 2014 before the opening of the case. Servier's former deputy boss, Jean-Philippe Seta was sentenced to a suspended jail sentence of four years. The court on also fined France's drug regulator ANSM 303,000 euros.

The plaintiffs had sought one billion euros in damages, but the general prosecution gave a cap of 9 million euros, the highest sum they can request in accordance with French law.

Lawyer Jean-Christophe Coubris dismissed the figure, saying the sum can be earned within six hours of work at the giant Servier Laboratoires. Coubris, who specializes in medical malpractice, represented 2,600 plaintiffs including families of dead victims and individuals who were severely damaged by the drug.

The case was opened in the summer of 2019 and ended a year later. The final ruling came after 517 hours of hearings that focused on one fundamental question: How did doctors keep prescribing Mediator for 33 years despite the constant warnings of its risks? The drug was withdrawn from pharmacies in 2009.



Europe Sizzles and Eiffel Tower's Summit Closes

A city sanitation worker uses a high-pressure hose to cool people off by the Eiffel Tower during a heatwave in Paris, France, 01 July 2025. EPA/YOAN VALAT
A city sanitation worker uses a high-pressure hose to cool people off by the Eiffel Tower during a heatwave in Paris, France, 01 July 2025. EPA/YOAN VALAT
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Europe Sizzles and Eiffel Tower's Summit Closes

A city sanitation worker uses a high-pressure hose to cool people off by the Eiffel Tower during a heatwave in Paris, France, 01 July 2025. EPA/YOAN VALAT
A city sanitation worker uses a high-pressure hose to cool people off by the Eiffel Tower during a heatwave in Paris, France, 01 July 2025. EPA/YOAN VALAT

Europe sizzled in its first major heat wave of the summer on Tuesday, as Barcelona recorded its hottest June in over a century and the summit of Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors.

Health warnings remained in effect in several countries. The abnormally hot weather “is exposing millions of Europeans to high heat stress” with temperatures more typical of July and August, said Samantha Burgess of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

Spain: Record temperatures Barcelona's Fabra Observatory reported an average temperature for last month of 26 C (78 F), breaking records since the data began in 1914. It said a single-day high of 37.9 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) for June was recorded Monday. Barcelona is usually spared the worst heat in Spain, thanks to its location between hills and the Mediterranean.

Ramón Pascual, a delegate for Spain’s weather service in Barcelona, told The Associated Press the "very intense heat wave” is clearly linked to global warming.

Pascual said inhabitants of the Mediterranean region are not being helped by the rising sea temperatures, which greatly reduce any cooling effects of a nearby body of water.

Spain’s weather service said recent surface temperatures for the Mediterranean near the Balearic Islands are 5 to 6 degrees Celsius higher than average.

Spain's national average for June of 23.6 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit) was 0.8 C hotter than the previous hottest June in 2017.

Madrid was forecast to reach 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit).
“We’re just surviving,” said Miguel Sopera, 63. “At night it’s impossible due to the terrible heat.”

France: Closed schools Temperatures were forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in Paris. National weather agency Météo-France placed several departments under the highest red alert. More than 1,300 schools were partially or fully closed.

Visitors to the Eiffel Tower without tickets were told to postpone their visits as the summit was closed until Thursday for "everyone's comfort and safety.”

Climate experts warn that future summers are likely to be hotter than any recorded to date, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius expected every year by 2100.

Italy: A blackout Italy's health ministry said 17 of the country's 27 major cities were experiencing a heat wave.

In Florence, where temperatures reached 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, parts of the city center experienced a blackout following a surge in electricity demand. Backup systems restored power, energy company Enel said.

Near Bologna, the 46-year-old owner of a construction company collapsed and died while repaving a school parking lot, state-run RAI reported. An autopsy was being conducted but heat was suspected.

The Netherlands: Water gun fight In the Dutch town of Soest, first responders said they were bringing a fire hose to an evening water gun fight.

“Bring your water pistol and swimming clothes with you, because you’re guaranteed to get soaked!” the firefighters said on social media.

Portugal: A record high The weather service in a statement Monday night confirmed the highest single temperature ever recorded in mainland Portugal for the month of June at 46.6 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit) on June 29 in the town of Mora, west of Lisbon.

Türkiye: Wildfires Firefighters across Türkiye tried to contain wildfires that have forced the evacuation of some 50,000 residents for the third consecutive day.

Czech Republic: Polar bears Temperatures were expected to reach 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by Wednesday in parts of the Czech Republic.

The Prague zoo distributed up to 10 metric tons of ice, with special attention given to polar bears. Zoo director Miroslav Bobek said twin brother bears Aleut and Gregor discovered frozen pieces of squid.