"At a time when many democracies are threatened, the issue of health is a priority for our fellow citizens." Zaynab Riet, general delegate of the French Hospital Federation, declared during a press conference. "Access to healthcare continues to deteriorate, and it is urgent to have a longer-term vision."
According to an Ipsos poll for the FHF (representative sample of 2,500 people, via the Internet), the waiting time for a medical appointment is increasing: the French report having waited an average of 12 days to see a general practitioner compared to four days in 2019. They waited three weeks and two days to see a pediatrician, compared to two weeks and four days in 2019.
73% of French people say they have given up "at least one act of care" in the last five years
This reported waiting time has almost tripled for cardiologists, as it now takes three months and two days compared to one month and three weeks in 2019. It has also doubled for dermatologists: four months and two weeks today, compared to two months and two days at the time.
Some 73% French people say they have given up "at least one act of care" (consultations, tests, medications…) in the last five years due to excessively long waiting times, geographical or budgetary accessibility difficulties, representing a 10-point increase compared to 2024 (63%). Some 63% report having "Fear of having to be hospitalized given the current situation in hospitals."
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"The 2022 (presidential) campaign barely addressed these issues."
Nearly one in two French people (49%) also report having gone to the emergency room for something other than a "medical emergency". The situation is particularly critical in the Centre-Val-de-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Pays-de-la-Loire regions.
"The 2022 (presidential) campaign barely addressed these issues.", particularly because she was "preempted" by the far-right candidate Eric Zemmour, and "There is a real need to make public authorities aware that health is one of the top priorities." French people, stressed a representative of Ipsos, Adélaïde Zulfikarpasic.
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The deficit in public hospitals is still "very worrying", Ms. Riet emphasized. It reached 2.5 billion euros at the end of 2025 and even 2.7 billion including nursing homes (2.9 billion in total in 2024).
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