Strasbourg: a patient files a complaint in the IHU “pig affair”

A cancer patient filed a complaint against Gabriel Weisser, who presents himself as a relative of the patient, filed a complaint on behalf of the latter with the public prosecutor “for endangering the lives of others and omission to provide assistance”. The prosecutor will have to decide whether to proceed or not.

This is a “citizen (...) who suffered a serious medical injustice,” said Gabriel Weisser to a few journalists gathered in front of the Strasbourg court. The objective is not to obtain financial compensation, he assures. “We are waiting for the criminal investigation to be able to determine responsibilities,” he stressed, saying he wanted to ensure that such a thing “does not happen again”.

“I thought it was fake”

The complainant, suffering from colon cancer, had his MRI of March 26, 2025 canceled at the IHU, without any other appointment being offered to him, according to him. A few weeks later, the magazine Le Point revealed that the appointments of a total of 43 patients, including some with cancer, had been canceled for March 14, 24 and 26, 2025 due to a lack of staff, while experiments on pigs and a human body on behalf of private companies were maintained. “I thought it was fake,” confides Gabriel Weisser.

Investigations concerning what was called by the media "the pig affair" were opened immediately, in particular by the general inspectorates of social affairs (Igas) and education, sport and research (Igesr) for which Gabriel Weisser says he was heard. Their report has not yet been made public. The media outlet Rue89 Strasbourg published extracts from the document on September 18, which highlighted governance failures and confirmed that the rescheduling had indeed affected 43 patients.

Around ten had appointments for follow-ups for cancers or suspected malignant tumors. The report highlighted that the appointments of patients requiring an urgent scan could however be rescheduled less than a week after their cancellation. Gabriel Weisser managed to find an appointment for his loved one on his own. “In this type of metastasized cancer, we are within a week. This MRI was necessary before his surgical operation scheduled for the end of April” which was finally able to take place, he said.