Overview
- Several hundred private surgeons, anesthetists and obstetricians left Paris in about 20 buses for a three-day stay in Belgium to protest government health policy.
- Le Bloc said 1,936 doctors registered for the trip but several hundred were requisitioned by authorities, reducing turnout.
- The action is part of a nationwide strike that started 5 January and produced a 19% drop in electronic claim submissions, with scheduled surgeries and consultations suspended.
- Protesters oppose measures tied to the 2026 social security financing law, including unilateral tariff-setting powers for the Assurance maladie director and tighter limits on sick-leave prescriptions.
- Unions seek a meeting with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu after drafting about ten proposals, and they signal further strike action next week after a Paris march that drew disputed counts of 20,000 versus 5,000.