EMERGENCY PLAN FOR THE PUBLIC HOSPITAL

INSUFFICIENT MEASURES

"The situation is even more serious than the one we analyzed," then acknowledged, the same day, Emmanuel Macron during a trip to Epernay (Marne).

A week later, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Health Minister Agnès Buzyn presented a large-scale emergency plan for the public hospital, exhausted after years of budget cuts. The first two emergency plans, presented in June and September, failed to end the strike that began in March and now affects more than 260 services.

This time the plan presented is worthy to save the "national treasure" that is the public hospital, in the words of Ms. Buzyn and to try to extinguish the fire before the day of mobilization for pensions December 5th.

The Prime Minister has announced an increase of 300 million euros more by 2020, an additional 1.5 billion over the next three years and also a partial but significant recovery of the debt of hospitals (10 billion out of 30 billion, or a third). The National Health Expenditure Target (Ondam), specifically earmarked for the hospital, will therefore increase to 2.4% from 2.1% initially set.

As for the Minister of Health, she notably announced a premium of 800 euros net for 40,000 nurses and caregivers living in Paris and in the inner suburbs, and earning less than 1,900 euros per month. Agnès Buzyn also announced an annual merit bonus of 300 euros which "will benefit 600,000 health professionals". The commitment bonus in the hospital career will also be upgraded.

But the announcements, if they constitute a first step, do not remain less insufficient for the collective Inter-Emergency which demanded mainly an increase of wages and manpower as well as a stop of the closures of beds.

With less than three weeks of indefinite strike against his pension reform on December 5, which promises to be very followed, the President of the Republic said he had "heard the anger and indignation" of the hospital.

And yet the mobilization is for now still called to continue: the collective Inter-Hospitals had announced a new "national event" on Saturday, November 30; and medical interns are also called to an indefinite strike from December 10 to denounce the "degradation of care".

There is no doubt that the anger, not extinguished today, caregivers also converges with that of the protesters against the pension reform on December 5. An aggregation of dangerous discontent ... for the government.