-
French pharmacists call off strike action after agreement with new prime minister
Plans to reduce pharmacy discounts on commercial drugs have been suspended
-
French police issue national alert over abduction of girl, 12, from Orne
Police are searching for 34-year old man they believe responsible for kidnapping
-
Three deaths in France linked to legionnaires' disease: how to protect yourself
More than 50 recent cases have been declared in Haute-Saône and Savoie
Protests to put dozens of French hospitals at risk of partial closure
Locum healthcare workers plan walkouts over proposed changes to pay

Dozens of hospitals in France may be forced to partially close from Monday (April 3) as locum healthcare workers protest plans to cap their pay.
Workers across emergency departments, anaesthetist care and psychiatry oppose plans to cap their income at €1,170 gross per day.
France Health Minister François Braun’s proposals are part of measures designed to fight current laws that mean that locum staff (who fill in for permanent staff) can sometimes earn up to three times more for the same hours.
News magazine Le Point - using data from the replacement doctors’ union le Syndicat national des médecins remplaçants hospitaliers (SNMRH) - reported that, as a result, 69 hospitals could be affected by partial closures from April 3.
Hospital workers have accused locum staff of being “cannibals”. Supply workers, meanwhile, say they are the ones keeping hospitals running.
The change and subsequent opposition could affect 107 hospital services and elderly care homes. Closures are expected to affect all regions and could include maternity centres, elderly care home nurses, and operating theatres.
A participating doctor told Capital: “Closures will take place in many places because temporary workers work everywhere. The government no longer wants to make us work at appropriate prices.
“It will soon realise how important we are to keeping hospitals running.”
France’s health ministry said it wants “to find solutions on a case-by-case basis”, but has said it is “alarmed” by the threat of so many closures.
Staffing shortages in French hospitals have long been a point of contention, with many strikes and protests taking place last year, and staff calling the current situation “disastrous”.
Hospital services and elderly care homes that could be affected:
Saint-Quentin, Amiens, Bar-sur-Aube, Bélizal et Argoat, Bergerac, Blois, Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Bourges, Cavaillon, Cherbourg, Mende, Millau, Montbrison, Montluçon, Morlaix, Moulins-Yzeure, Nemours, Neufchâteau, Nevers, Vire, Orange, Pont-Audemer, Pontivy, Pontorson, Rodez, Rouen, Les Sables-d'Olonne, Saint-Omer, Allonnes, and Seclin.
The hospital centres of the following towns may also be affected:
Sud de Seine-et-Marne, Forcilles, Sisteron, Saint-Étienne, Thionville, Vauclaire, Vernon, Villefranche, Vitré, Le Havre, Lens, Libourne, Lillebonne, Luçon, Manosque, Marseille, CHU Mayenne and Saint Lô, Corse, Digne, Le Tréport, Évreux, Fécamp, Feurs, Forez, Granville, Grasse, Guéret, Hirson, Pontoise, Issoudun, La Mure, La Sarthe-et-Loir, Lannion, Laval, and Layne Mont-de-Marsan.
Related articles
‘Dangerous conditions’ in 127 hospitals and emergency units in France
French hospital workers strike over ‘disastrous’ staff shortages
One in five French A&E units face cuts or closure due to lack of staff