Paris (AFP)
Little heat on Friday evening in the Senate on the recurring question of the territorial distribution of young doctors: "How much does a senator cost to blame a student for what it costs the Nation?", Launched Senator LR Alain Milon to a of his colleagues.
During the examination of the Social Security budget bill, Jean-Luc Fichet, PS senator from Finistère, defended an amendment in favor of "territorialized agreement".
That is to say, a regulation of the agreements of new doctors to Health Insurance to encourage them to settle in areas of medical deserts.
The debates were somewhat heated between supporters and opponents of coercive measures.
"Coercion is not the solution," said Minister Brigitte Bourguignon in an ambient hubbub.
"We are no longer in the same medicine as before, I can not help it, it's cultural," she added.
"The territorialized agreement is not much, when we know that the training of a doctor is 150,000 euros that it costs the State", argued Mr. Fichet.
"I find it scandalous that you can blame a medical student for costing the state 150,000 euros," reacted the former chairman of the Social Affairs Committee Alain Milon.
"You also do not know how much savings the medical student allows the hospital to make," he continued, before blurting out: "How much does a senator cost to reproach a student for what he cost to the Nation? ".
Catherine Deroche (LR), who succeeded her at the beginning of October at the head of the commission, added: "They are not slackers, they work during all the years of their studies".
She also judged "totally scandalous" that they are blamed for "the money they cost the community" after "the period we have just lived" and their involvement in the health crisis.
Mr Fichet's amendment and others going in the same direction were rejected.
© 2020 AFP