Pharmacist Marc Alandry was fined 20,000 euros for having received gifts from Urgo laboratories, such as a fridge or a watch. He confided his anger to franceinfo.
Published
Reading time: 1 min
:quality(50)/2023/04/13/6437e52910843_maxstockworld449882.jpg)
“We got tricked”, testified Thursday January 11 on franceinfo Marc Alandry, pharmacist in Aude, convicted of having received gifts from Urgo laboratories, like hundreds of other pharmacists. The current Minister of Health, Agnès Firmin-Le Bodo, is also the target of an investigation, also suspected of having received gifts from the laboratory.
According to Marc Alandry, fined 20,000 euros for having received these gifts, “it was a coincidence” : “My cleaning lady’s vacuum cleaner had just broken, and one of the laboratory salespeople told me that I shouldn’t take a discount on the white ranges and in return, I benefited from points for having a great vacuum cleaner.
A fridge or a watch as gifts
One thing led to another and the pharmacist then received other gifts from the laboratories, such as a fridge or even a watch. “It lasted between five and ten years. I always wondered if it continued to be legal“, he explains. “I was surprised not to receive invoices or guarantees. They told me that everything was completed by their lawyers.” The pharmacist is ultimately singled out for these practices. “I pleaded guilty because I realized how stupid and confident I was. It was without malice, but we were cheated and we are guilty.”
Today, he remains angry with Urgo laboratories: “I would really like them to explain to us why they did that. I have not increased my purchases from them despite these gifts. They have tarnished us. I hope that my message will be heard by all French people to continue to trust us.”
