Paris (AFP)

Taken aback by a new social movement of the public hospital, the government must unveil Wednesday morning "a contingency plan" supposed to "strengthen" and "accelerate" a strategy announced more than a year ago.

"The situation is even worse than the one we analyzed": Emmanuel Macron himself admitted to it during his impromptu speech on the sidelines of a trip to Epernay (Marne) last Thursday, promising "strong decisions "for the hospital.

At the same time, several thousand heads of service, doctors, nurses, carers or internal help were demonstrating throughout France, during a strike followed by a quarter of hospital doctors and more than one out of ten paramedics.

Within three weeks of an indefinite strike against his pension reform, the President of the Republic said he "heard the anger and indignation" of the hospital.

However, he does not intend to change his prescription: the plan "My Health 2022" that he himself presented in September 2018 "goes in the right direction but does not go fast enough," he said.

He therefore asked the government for an "acceleration" to "invest more strongly", announcements of the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn in June and September, amounting to 750 million euros over three years, was not enough to end the unprecedented emergency strike that began in March.

- "Revalorization of wages" -

Starting from the capital, the movement spread throughout France with 268 establishments affected at the end of last week. "They played short of breath, which allowed us to have a strong enough coalition to mobilize," analyzes Hugo Huon, nurse and figure of the collective Inter-Emergency, at the origin of this movement.

This conflict, which initially concerned only caregivers, coagulated all the discontent of the hospital and federated all the unions. Even doctors eventually joined in September in another group Inter-Hospitals, which calls for a new demonstration on November 30, ten days before an indefinite strike of interns.

The demands remain the same: higher wages and staff and the closure of bed closures.

Buzyn, who had long pointed to problems of "organization", ended up revising her priorities, promising at the end of October a "support plan" focused on "the attractiveness of the hospital" with "the revaluation of wages. especially early in the career ", to stem the flight of staff.

To achieve this, unions and collectives demand an increase of at least 4% of the hospital budget when the budget of the Sécu for 2020, under examination in Parliament, provides for just over 2%, or 84%. $ 2 billion for public and private institutions.

The leaders of public hospitals claimed at the end of October an extension of at least 250 million euros, some sources within the majority evoking these days a boost of about 400 million.

- "Everything is open" -

Other avenues are under consideration, including a total or partial recovery of the colossal debt of hospitals (about 30 billion euros) by the state to lower interest rates and thus save several hundred million dollars. euros per year.

Bercy, who initially said that this option was "not envisaged", put water in his wine: "everything is open," said Sunday the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire.

It's not all about money. It is also question of power in hospitals: Mr. Macron is ready to give "more room to those who care", which would pass, according to a deputy, a revision of the Bachelot law of 2009, which had transferred all responsibilities to administrative directors at the expense of doctors.

© 2019 AFP