Several thousand general practitioners on strike since Monday marched in Paris on Saturday against an "authoritarian drift" which they say threatens their "freedom to practice", calling on Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to "make proposals" to them.
Among the slogans of the protesters, many of whom came in white coats, were "we want caregivers not sanctions", "the Social Security talks numbers, we talk patients" or, addressed to the government, "we are not pawns in your failures".
"The key measure that angers us is the introduction of targets for sick leave. We try our best every day to ensure that sick leave is justified and productive, and this undermines all our work. It's insulting," says Elise Mercier, a general practitioner in La Haie-Fouassière, near Nantes, whom we met in the march.
In December, the National Assembly adopted a limit of one month for sick leave in the first prescription and two months for a renewal.
"We see our working conditions deteriorating significantly" and "now, various attacks on our sector will prevent us from doing our job properly," also judges Muriel Kolmer, a self-employed anesthesiologist from Mulhouse.
– “defend our freedom” –
Another irritating point is the possibility given to the director of Health Insurance to unilaterally set medical tariffs.
"We want to defend our freedom," summarized Franck Devulder, president of the Confederation of French Medical Unions (CSMF), during a press conference this morning.
In France, "the need for care is increasing but the resources dedicated to health are decreasing, so, inevitably, there is an inadequacy. And there is an authoritarian drift," lamented Agnès Giannotti, president of the leading union of general practitioners.
The demonstration is part of a strike from January 5 to 15, which is expected to reach a peak early next week when many private clinics will be affected by operating room closures.
As a sign of the prevailing tension, the inter-union group refused a meeting with Health Minister Stéphanie Rist on Friday after the demonstration, believing that she had already known "for a long time the sticking points".
In view of the "historic mobilization", "it is high time that at the highest level of the State, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu gives us concrete answers," demanded Mr. Devulder.
Liberal doctors have already obtained the elimination of the surcharge on excess fees or the obligation to consult and contribute to the shared medical record (DMP) of patients.
They also oppose other measures currently being considered by Parliament, such as the possibility of imposing prescription reduction targets on doctors who prescribe significantly more than their colleagues in comparable situations.
– “rolling strike” –
"We are asking for respect, for safeguarding the medical convention, the agreement that we sign with the Health Insurance" every four years to regulate the sector, stressed Patricia Lefébure, president of the FMF union.
The interns, also mobilized, denounce the "botched" implementation of the reform establishing a fourth year of general medicine, which was initially supposed to offer them a year of internship in private practice but will, due to a lack of places, push many students to stay "another year in the hospital", according to their representatives.
According to the Minister of Health – who receives the statistics with a delay of 48 hours – activity had decreased on Tuesday by 19% among general practitioners and 12% among specialists.
The unions consider the figures "not representative," estimating that 801,000 practitioners are participating in the movement, which often takes the form of a "rolling strike," with a few days of opening so as not to penalize their patients.
According to Lamine Gharbi, president of the Federation of Private Hospitals (FHP), 80% of the 4,000 practitioners registered for "on-call care in health establishments" have been "requisitioned" by the authorities to maintain a minimum level of activity in clinics.
The strikers received support from LR leader Bruno Retailleau, who stated on X that "the government is betraying its word and showing contempt for liberal medicine."
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