French professor faces disciplinary case over hydroxychloroquine claims

Didier Raoult stands accused of touting drug as a coronavirus treatment without evidence

A French professor who touts the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment - without evidence, scientists say - will appear before a disciplinary panel charged with ethics breaches, an order of doctors has said.

Marseille-based Didier Raoult stands accused by his peers of spreading false information about the benefits of the drug. His promotion of hydroxychloroquine was taken up by the US and Brazilian presidents, Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, who trumpeted its unproven benefits in a way critics say put people's lives at risk.