To deal with the health crisis that has struck France since March 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, lockdown periods have been implemented and a new, exceptional, state-of-emergency legal regime has been created. The decisions for such measures, which severely limit rights and freedoms, are not taken by Parliament or local elected councils but by the President of the Republic, surrounded by a few ministers and advised by experts. The management of the crisis is, therefore, centralised and technocratic. This mode of operation, unprecedented in various ways, disrupts the usual decision-making processes within the executive branch, weakens national and local democratic bodies and undermines the rule of law.