New French PM targets 30-minute health access for all

A network of 5,000 “France Santé” centres is to be created by 2027 to ensure that every French resident can reach a medical service in under 30 minutes under proposals from Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

He outlined the proposal on September 13 during his first trip outside Paris since taking office, visiting a departmental health centre in Mâcon, Saône-et-Loire.

The prime minister said he would oversee the project personally - describing it as “national priority” - but did not give any indication as to its cost.

The proposed “France Santé” structures would follow the model of “France Services” one-stop shops, designed to provide local points of access for state services. 

Mr Lecornu argued that healthcare provision must be anchored at the level of “bassins de vie” (local living areas) and not left to geography alone.

The creation of the France Santé network will have to be written into both the state and social security budgets.

He stressed that the issue of access to care “cannot wait until the presidential election of 2027” and announced forthcoming talks with health professionals at the Ministry of Health.

Mr Lecornu’s announcement comes as he prepares the 2026 budget, which must pass without a stable parliamentary majority.

France’s medical deserts

Successive governments have attempted to address the problem of France’s ‘medical deserts’ with various measures aimed at drawing both salaried and independent practitioners to these areas.

However, Mr Lecornu’s proposed “France Santé” network is likely to spark debate between salaried and independent practitioners whom the previous government had sought to draw to underserved areas by making it easier for them to set up new clinics.

France already has more than 2,500 health centres and 2,501 maisons de santé pluriprofessionnelles (MSP), which bring together doctors, nurses and other practitioners under one roof. 

The official target is to reach 4,000 MSPs in the coming years. However, distribution remains uneven, with many concentrated in urban areas.

Many professional unions favour MSPs, where doctors remain independent but work in shared premises, unlike health centres, which are managed by public or associative bodies and employ salaried doctors. 

They argue that independent practitioners in MSPs can carry heavier workloads and provide more care than salaried colleagues.

Salaried practitioners in health centres must apply standard healthcare fees and accept third-party payments, while also meeting obligations on opening hours. 

In 2024, six million people in France had no registered family doctor, and 87% of the country was classed as a medical desert.