Portrait
Mélanie Maupas was not a journalist, nor a doctor, nor a militant intellectual. She was a funeral advisor, a native of Moulins in the Allier department — an ordinary woman in very good health, who accompanied families in mourning every day. That is precisely why her testimony had the impact it did: she was not defending any ideology. She was simply reporting what had happened in her own body.
In June 2021, Mélanie received her second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (Comirnaty). Two to three days after the injection, fasciculations — involuntary muscle contractions — appeared in her left arm, exactly at the injection site. Her general practitioner reassured her: she had been "pricked in a nerve". Yet the symptoms progressed. Week after week, arm, hand, left leg — her strength abandoned her. In January 2022, a third dose. The deterioration accelerated.
After a year and a half of medical wandering, the verdict fell on November 7, 2022: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — Charcot's disease, one of the most devastating and inexorable neurodegenerative pathologies. Mélanie was 34 years old. She needed a wheelchair to get around. And she chose, despite everything, to testify publicly.
Testimony — Mélanie Maupas, 2022
"At 33 years old, my ordeal began at the end of June 2021 following the 2nd Pfizer dose. 2-3 days later, I started having fasciculations at the injection site, left arm. I mentioned it to my general practitioner who told me I had been pricked in a nerve. These descended gradually down the arm, then into the hand, and continued on the left side in the back, then the leg. I saw my doctor several times and she kept telling me the injection had been done in a nerve... End of January 2022, 3rd Pfizer dose. As days and weeks went by, I lost strength in my arm, my hand, and my left leg. I could no longer extend my fingers and I had cramps in my wrist and fingers."
"Before getting vaccinated, we were in perfect shape. If we are here today, it's precisely because there's a problem somewhere."
— Mélanie Maupas, March 2025 before the ANSM
Timeline of a fight
June 2021
2nd Pfizer dose. Immediate fasciculations at the injection site — left arm. The general practitioner diagnoses: "pricked in a nerve".
Jan. 2022
3rd Pfizer dose. Progressive and irreversible deterioration of muscle strength — arm, hand, left leg. Inability to extend fingers.
Nov. 2022
Diagnosis confirmed: ALS / Charcot's disease. A year and a half of medical wandering. Mélanie is 34 years old. She begins to testify publicly via the association Verity France.
2022–23
Co-founds AAVIC Team with her father Alain Maupas (vice-president) and Mathieu Dubois (president) — an association for victims of the vaccination campaign suffering notably from Charcot's disease. She becomes its vice-president.
Feb. 2023
Present in Vierzon during the Citizen Meetings on the adverse effects of long Covid and vaccines. Interviewed by Nexus magazine — first major media testimony.
Feb. 2024
Second Citizen Meetings in Vierzon. Mélanie testifies from her wheelchair. New Nexus interview. Her message crosses associative borders and reaches tens of thousands of people.
Nov. 2024
Historic victory. The French pharmacovigilance system recognizes the imputability of the Pfizer vaccine in triggering Mélanie's ALS — the second person in the association to obtain this recognition. Her father announces: "But the fight is not over."
March 2025
Speech before the ANSM (National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products) alongside the collectives AAVIC Team, Verity France, Où est mon cycle, in the presence of Professor Perronne and several doctors. Her last major public act of resistance.
Feb 24, 2026
Passing. Mélanie Maupas passes away at 37, from Charcot's disease. Her last message asks those who knew her to enjoy life. Immediate tributes from Verity France, AAVIC Team, Profession Gendarme, Le Média en 4-4-2, Nexus.
Official Recognition — January 2025
French pharmacovigilance recognizes vaccine → ALS link
In November 2024, the French pharmacovigilance system officially recognized the causal link between the second Pfizer-BioNTech injection (Comirnaty) and the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Mélanie Maupas. Mélanie is the second person in AAVIC Team to obtain this recognition.
Her father Alain then revealed that the neurology department of a major hospital confided to them — without being able to certify it in writing, for fear of prosecution — that Charcot's disease cases had increased by more than 20% between 2021 and 2022, and by 22% between 2022 and 2023. As of that date, AAVIC Team has 22 living people suffering from ALS — all aged 21 to 50 — and two deceased.
This legal victory, won after years of fighting and medical files compiled with the help of the Solidekla association, does not change the course of the disease. But it validates what Mélanie had said from the start: the link exists.
AAVIC Team — The association she co-founded
Association of Covid Injection Victims — with her father and Mathieu Dubois
AAVIC Team (Association for Aid to Victims of Covid Injections) was founded by Mélanie Maupas, her father Alain Maupas (vice-president) and Mathieu Dubois (president). She served as its vice-president until her death.
The association works towards the recognition of victims, facilitates networking between patients, the sharing of information, and legally assists individuals in their procedures with pharmacovigilance. It contributed to the compilation of dozens of files sent to health authorities and Parliament.
Mélanie and her father were received at Parliament. A meeting with the Minister of Health was being planned when the dissolution of the National Assembly blocked everything. "It's as if they're doing it on purpose", Alain had said. Website: aavicteam.com
Video Testimonies
Her last message
Mélanie Maupas — Last public message
"Enjoy life."
Tribute from Mathieu Dubois, president of AAVIC Team — February 24, 2026
"You have gone to a better world... I will no longer see your beautiful smile, I will no longer hear our laughs, I will no longer admire your incredible courage and strength. Your resilience and combativeness are an example to all. Thank you for the wonderful person you are, for all the love you sowed around you. You will remain in my heart forever."
Verity France, Profession Gendarme, Nexus magazine, Le Média en 4-4-2, and thousands of members of citizen collectives have joined in this tribute. Her father Alain continues the fight.
Non Possumus 