REACTION
The ban is surprising. In the town of La Gresle, in the Loire, it is now forbidden to ... die on weekends. This measure, obviously symbolic, is the result of a decree taken by the mayor of the village of 850 inhabitants, Isabelle Dugelet, to denounce the shortage of doctors. At the microphone of Europe 1, the elected describes a "dramatic medical situation in our sector".
"It is forbidden to the inhabitants to die at home on the municipal territory on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays for an indefinite period", specifies the decree published Friday evening. "I wanted to sound the alarm on a medical situation that is dramatic in our sector," says Isabelle Dugelet, denouncing an "absurd situation" that responds to this order "just as absurd".
"The locals reacted very favorably"
"Like many places in France, we have to move a lot to be treated, several tens of kilometers, which is a lot of time and money," says the mayor of La Gresle. The sector is notably deprived of medical care because the doctors, too few, are exempt from it. On December 1, the elected and had 2:30 to find a doctor to see the death of a resident of the local Ehpad, said the daily Le Progrès who revealed the information.
Before taking this decree, Isabelle Dugelet admits to having "fears by telling me that I was going to shock". But, she says, the inhabitants of La Gresle "reacted very favorably", with "a lot of understanding". People are "relieved that we are finally trying to solve their problems," she notes again, regretting the lack of action in the face of the shortage of doctors. "It is said that this is the main concern of rural areas, but nothing is done," laments the mayor.