They expressed their anger against Health Insurance and the government, demanded better rates and demanded the blocking of a reform which facilitates access to other caregivers. Thousands of doctors demonstrated on Tuesday, February 14, in Paris.
A procession of between 4,500 participants, according to the police headquarters, and more than 10,000, according to the organizers. Preceded by a dozen SOS Médecins vehicles – also on strike for the occasion – he was taken away by union leaders behind a banner “All united in the face of contempt”.
Leaving the Ministry of Health in the early afternoon, the demonstrators joined the Pantheon, not far from the Senate, where a bill on “direct access” to certain paramedics (nurses, physiotherapists, speech therapists) must be examined at the end of the day. The unions accuse the text of “endanger health” Population “bypassing the coordination function of the attending physician”.
These arguments are challenged by the government. “The objective is in no way to set aside the general practitioner”, said the Minister Delegate for Health Professions, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, who came to defend the text before the senators. On the contrary, this reform aims to “give more time for care” to doctors, said the Minister of Health François Braun on Franceinfosaying “understand the concern of doctors, not their hostility”.
Reinforced mobilization
The bill is also supported by nurses, of whom fifty unions and associations denounced on Tuesday “systematic opposition by physicians to any development of [autres] health professionals ». The Association of Mayors of France also said « favorable » to the text, as well as the federation of patient associations, France Assos Santé.
The doctors’ unions, which on the contrary denounced a “dismantling of medicine”rejoiced to do better than their January 5 parade, which had gathered between 2,300 and 4,000 practitioners. ” It is a success “congratulated Agnès Gianotti (MG France).
The mobilization was also reinforced by the deadlock in negotiations with Health Insurance, whose proposal for an increase of barely 1.50 euros in the price of the basic consultation – from 25 to 26.50 euros was lived as “a provocation”, while the unions expect no less than 30 euros. An amount that Mr. Braun himself deemed “not absurd”.
Others are calling for an act at 50 euros, such as the Doctors for Tomorrow collective, at the origin of previous cabinet closures in December and during the holidays. Its president, Sophie Bauer, estimated on Franceinfo that it would cost “5 billion euros”the price to pay according to her for “to make up for years of poverty”. “The negotiation is not over”replied on France Inter the Director of Health Insurance, Thomas Fatôme, stressing that his offer already represents 500 million euros, i.e. “7,000 euros in additional fees” per year and per physician.
Before receiving the unions again on Thursday, he said he was ready to “go further in these revaluations, but in a give-and-take logic”. Counterparts are therefore expected, so that doctors undertake to “taking more patients, on call, providing unscheduled care”he specified.