Overview
- Health Minister Stéphanie Rist reported a 15% drop in general-practice activity and a 6% decline for specialists on the first strike day, based on electronic claims compared with the same Monday a year earlier.
- Emergency services faced heavier pressure, with the minister citing a 24% rise in Samu calls and the Samu urgences de France union warning of a 30% to 50% increase to the Samu-SAS line.
- The union-led walkout is set to run ten days with plans to intensify, including a large Paris demonstration and a possible total shutdown of private operating rooms this weekend.
- Rist rejected claims that the 2026 social-security financing law ends freedom of installation or introduces sick‑leave quotas, noting removed penalties for not filling shared medical records and no new tax on sector‑2 doctors, and she called for dialogue.
- Doctors point to tighter oversight of sick leave and broader state control over practice rules, including obligations tied to shared medical records, reimbursement changes, and fiscal pressure.