Liberal doctors strike: ‘This decision is both symbolic and difficult’

In front of Saint-Ouen (Saint-Saint-Denis) emergency medical center, mask under chin, a young doctor breaks a cigarette. “It’s crazy today He breathes, expels the smoke. It is 15:30 and I have already seen 35 patients. We don’t stop. » On the first day of December and the liberal doctors’ strike at the center, the pace is more sustained than usual. But the professional, who preferred to remain anonymous, still supports the movement. “You don’t have to believe that all doctors go by helicopter to play golf. The reality on the ground is much closer to these types of days.”He lets it go before going back to counseling.

Thousands of liberal doctors and biologists closed their practices and laboratories on Thursday 1^Eh And on Friday, December 2, some are protesting non-recognition and demanding higher prices, while others are protesting a tax that will benefit them from the Secu budget. All liberal medical associations, in the middle of normal negotiations with Medicare, support the movement, with nuances in their positioning; For the first time since 2015.

By basic request, doubling the amount of consultation – from 25 to 50 euros -, for the collective tomorrow of young doctors., With 15,000 members on Facebook, it gave a boost. As of Thursday evening, more than 10,000 closed practices were mentioned in its ranks – 110,000 for liberal practitioners. “Minimum number, as many doctors answered only once during the entire practice”, notes Celine Brettel, the spokesperson of the collective. The Generalists-CSMF union reports that more than 80% of practices have closed. UFML, at 75%, with strong participation in Toulouse, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Lyon… “Doctors do not have a culture of mobilization, Jérôme Marty, UFML recalls. Many people told us that they have never gone on strike in their lives. It is a symbolic and difficult decision. »

“Patients help us”

Signs, whistles, slogans: There was anger in at least twenty cities on Thursday. A thousand white coats gathered in Paris in front of the Ministry of Health, 450 in Nantes, 200 in Toulouse, as many in Rennes or Marseilles. A third of the 300 liberal doctors in Corsica declared themselves on strike. Figures not confirmed by the Ministry of Health “take a step back”Thomas Fathom, director general of Medicare, said he is awaiting reimbursement data “Measuring the Reality of Motion”.