France

No end in sight for French hospital crisis

French hospitals are witnessing an unprecedented nationwide strike movement  by paramedical personnel in Accident and Emergency (A&E) services in protest over under-staffing, patient over-crowding, inadequate equipment and poor wages. Despite short-term financial measures announced by the government in June to defuse the situation, the movement has snowballed from 60 hospitals in March to more than 200 this month, when A&E doctors announced they too may now take strike action over what they called “catastrophic” working conditions. Rouguyata Sall reports on the deepening crisis and talks to members of Inter-Urgences, the collective leading the strike movement.

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In March, a long-simmering discontent among accident and emergency (A&E) personnel in French hospitals, who complain of under-staffing, patient over-crowding, inadequate equipment and poor wages, spilled over into strike action at more than 60 hospitals across France. The dispute has grown significantly over the summer months, and this week, a collective body representing A&E nursing staff involved in the movement, Inter-Urgences, announced that 217 A&E services had joined the strike action, representing around a third of all A&E services in French public hospitals (the French health ministry’s own count, announced last week, is 195 hospitals affected).

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Since January 7, 2023 our colleague and friend Mortaza Behboudi has been imprisoned in Afghanistan, in the Taliban prisons.

We do not forget him and call for his release.

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#FREEMORTAZA

Since January 7, 2023 our colleague and friend Mortaza Behboudi has been imprisoned in Afghanistan, in the Taliban prisons.

We do not forget him and call for his release.

Learn more about #FREEMORTAZA