Overview

• Prime Minister François Bayrou unveiled the 'pacte de lutte contre les déserts médicaux,' requiring doctors to provide one to two consultation days per month in underserved areas, with financial incentives and penalties for non-compliance.
• The government has abandoned plans to restrict doctors' freedom of installation, opting instead for a solidarity-based approach to address uneven medical access across France.
• The plan includes deploying 3,700 fourth-year medical interns to priority zones, potentially delivering up to 15 million consultations annually starting in 2025.
• Medical education reforms aim to recruit students from rural areas, expand first-year slots in every department, mandate internships in underserved regions, and streamline foreign diploma recognition.
• Medical unions and students have announced nationwide strikes beginning April 28, protesting both the solidarity measures and the broader Garot law, with further parliamentary debates anticipated in May.