Olivier Véran, a neurologist for a public hospital in the midst of a nervous breakdown

"For all that you have done in this fine ministry, I thank you." Monday, February 17, the transfer of power between Agnès Buzyn, now LREM candidate for mayor of Paris and Olivier Véran, his successor to the post of Minister of Solidarity and Health, was warm. Entering politics in 2012, the deputy of Isère and a 39-year-old doctor must now prove himself in the midst of the hospital crisis and the coronavirus epidemic.

Neurologist at the Grenoble University Hospital, Olivier Véran began his political career at 32 as a deputy for PS deputy Geneviève Fioraso. From 2012 to 2015, when she joined the Ayrault and Valls governments, he succeeded her as a deputy for the first constituency of Isère.

When Emmanuel Macron launched his En Marche! Movement, he left socialist colors to join him. The one who was also regional councilor of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes since 2016 said he was seduced by the "overcoming of cleavages and political politics", while claiming to keep "the heart on the left".

This new orientation pushes him to participate in the writing of the health program of the candidate Macron during the presidential election of 2017. After the arrival of Emmanuel Macron at the head of the state, Olivier Véran is reelected deputy of the first constituency de l'Isère, this time under the LREM label. If at the time, he was tipped to become the new Minister of Health, it was ultimately Agnès Buzyn who was appointed to this post.

A doctor with a committed journey

In addition to his political functions, the deputy from Isère continues to provide medical consultations. "He works like all his colleagues and even takes on-call duty, some evenings, when he comes home with the professional phone on him," assures Le Figaro a doctor who rubbed shoulders with the new Minister of Health.

This profile fits into the philosophy of the LREM party, which relies on men and women from civil society. After the hematologist Agnès Buzyn, it is therefore the neurologist Olivier Véran who will take over from Health, who says that he "fell in love with the organization of the healthcare system".

The hospital world knows him well: former vice-president of the Inter-Syndicat national des internees (ISNI) during his medical studies in Grenoble, he financed his training by working as a nursing assistant, particularly in geriatrics. He also followed a master's degree in health management and policy at Sciences-Po Paris and was president of the Association of assistants of hospitals in Grenoble.

On entering this Ministry, I feel a lot of pride but also an immense responsibility in the face of the magnitude of the challenges that await me. I'm ready! pic.twitter.com/rc6rIh7RyL

His double hat as a politician and a practitioner inspires distrust in some. Professor André Grimaldi of the Inter-hospitals collective is particularly concerned that the Minister of Health will turn into "Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Budget", as he explained to France Inter.

For his part, Frédéric Pierru, a health sociologist who worked with Olivier Véran, also has reservations about this appointment. "What struck me was the speed with which a doctor with good intentions was swallowed up by political ambition, by technocratic logic: in the end, he speaks more technocrats than technocrats" , he told France Inter.

Advocate for therapeutic cannabis

At the National Assembly, Olivier Véran, who has also been general rapporteur of the Social Affairs committee since 2017, stood out for his assumed positions. It is for example at the origin of the device making it possible to remunerate the emergency services which redirect the patients suffering from minor pathologies towards the city medicine. Olivier Véran also passed a new tax on sugary soft drinks.

Describing himself as "truly progressive", he pleads on television and radio for the use of therapeutic cannabis. Olivier Véran is also known for having voted for an amendment which now prohibits the use of malnourished mannequins.

>> Read also: France in turn launches therapeutic cannabis

Since January, he has been rapporteur for the organic part of the pension reform, dealing with financial balance. He took office as minister the same day that the examination of the bill in the National Assembly began, a day marked by a new strike in transport.

In this tense social climate, Olivier Véran will also have to manage the public hospital crisis. The new minister takes office three days after a day of mobilization of hospital staff. In several French cities, they once again expressed their attachment to the public hospital and their anger at the inadequacy of the government's "emergency plan" announced last fall.

A busy agenda

To ease tensions, Olivier Véran announced Monday, when he took office, "a national survey" among all "hospital". The goal: "try to grasp in detail the meaning of their commitment to the public and the reasons for the discomfort they have been telling us for a number of years now". "We must reform the hospital and involve those who support it on a daily basis," insisted the new minister.

In addition to the caregivers' anger, the new Minister of Health must also reassure against the epidemic of coronavirus, which came from China. In France, an 80-year-old Chinese tourist has died and twelve people are currently infected. During the handover, Olivier Véran assured that the spread of the disease remained "the number 1 priority" of the Ministry of Health. "I will share with the French all the information I will have, (...) I will continue to make regular reports on the situation", as the former minister did since the beginning of the dissemination of the Covid-19 epidemic outside China, where the virus appeared in December.

Continuing the work of Agnes Buzyn, Olivier Véran will also have to follow this year the parliamentary course of the bioethics bill opening in particular the right to medically assisted procreation (PMA) to single women and couples of women. "I know the files", assured Monday an Olivier Véran confident on France info.

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