The emotion aroused by the recent beating of a general practitioner in Seine-Saint-Denis and the sentence of his attacker, deemed too lenient by representatives of doctors, have rekindled the debate on the violence suffered by healthcare workers, and a group is calling for the law to be toughened.
"We demand that Parliament adopt very quickly the Pradal bill" increasing penalties for attacks on healthcare workers, adopted by the National Assembly in March 2024 and awaiting examination by the Senate, pleaded Dr. Saïd Ouichou, one of the organizers of a collective of around fifteen representative associations and organizations, to the press in Paris.
"We want a legal tool that will ensure the judge's hand no longer trembles" when he has to punish "an attacker of a doctor, nurse, physiotherapist or pharmacist," added Mr. Ouichou, himself a general practitioner in the northern districts of Marseille.
The fact that the victim of an assault is a caregiver "must be an aggravating circumstance," as is the case for elected officials or police officers, for example, he explained.
In Paris and Marseille, demonstrations bringing together a handful of healthcare workers were organized to protest this violence. In the capital, a delegation was received at the Ministry of Health.
The idea for this mobilization emerged after several attacks, including that of a general practitioner in Drancy (Seine-Saint-Denis), whose perpetrator was recently sentenced to community service and a fine. The widely publicized case sparked outrage, compounded by the sentence, which some healthcare workers deemed too lenient for the accused.
"We continue to practice, unfortunately, or fortunately, because we have our patients who need us. But on the other hand, everything around us sometimes scares us. We redouble our vigilance, we are careful, we avoid entering with our caduceus, we avoid having equipment on us," testified Handa Douafflia, 55, a private nurse in the northern districts of Marseille, during the Marseille demonstration.
"We need to have the protection of the authorities, we need to have the protection of judges when acts like this happen," says Thomas Laennec, 37, a general practitioner in Toulon, representing the UFMLS (French Union for Free Medicine) doctors' union.
– Underestimated figures? –
"Caregivers need to be able to work with peace of mind, and to be able to work with peace of mind, they need to feel protected," adds the white coat.
According to figures from the French Medical Association, attacks against healthcare professionals increased by 271% in 2023, with 1,581 incidents recorded.
"And the figures are still underestimated" because many doctors do not report or file a complaint after an assault, according to Dr. Ouichou.
The collective, which includes two unions representing private doctors, SOS Médecins France, and the leading pharmacists' union, is calling for the rapid implementation of the plan to combat violence against healthcare workers, launched by the government in 2023.
When asked about the causes of this increase in violence in surgeries, members of the collective mentioned the tensions caused by the deterioration in healthcare provision and more relaxed behavior in the face of violence.
"When you attack a healthcare worker, you put them in difficulty, they can no longer practice their profession and hundreds, if not thousands, of patients will no longer be able to receive care," said Dr. Sophie Bauer, president of the SML doctors' union.
The bill by former Horizons MP Philippe Pradal includes, among other things, the increase in penalties for violence against healthcare workers – in some cases up to five years' imprisonment and a fine of €75,000 – the creation of an offence of contempt, and easier filing of complaints.
"The ministry will resume parliamentary debates on this text in the Senate in May 2025," announced ministers Catherine Vautrin and Yannick Neuder in a joint press release, promising "zero tolerance."
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