64

Health democracy and the consecration of the rights of patient-users are often presented by the actors in this history as an irresistible conquest leading to the progressive autonomy of the latter from the powers that structure the field of health. However, on closer inspection, this story is much more complex and winding. Moreover, the enshrinement of individual and collective rights is not always enough to guarantee their effectiveness in an institutional landscape that has undergone major transformations since the 2002 law. Finally, while there have been undeniable advances, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how fragile these gains are. If the AIDS epidemic was a key moment in the “birth” of health democracy, the current pandemic has played the opposite role, by giving precedence to a health police force that has little regard for democracy, whether representative or health-related.