During a field visit that led him to a hospital in the Ariège region in southern France, French President Emmanuel Macron criticized those who follow a hard line with Algeria, especially those he described as “crazy” who want to break with it. Macron also expressed his regret at the administrative complexities that continue to characterize the integration of foreign, non-European doctors into French hospitals.
Published on: 04/28/2026 - 16:00
The French President did not hide the severity of his position. During his field visit to a hospital in the Ariège region in southern France, he harshly criticized all those demanding a “hard line” with Algeria, expressing at the same time his regret for those he described as “crazy people” who want to break with this country.
Macron's statements came just a day after Patrick Martin, head of the French employers "Medif", returned from a visit to Algeria that came at the invitation of his counterpart, Kamal Mola, with the aim of restoring warmth to economic relations between the two countries, which had been affected by the political crises and thorny issues between Algeria and France, such as immigration, security, Western Sahara and the memory of colonialism.
Macron said during his visit to La Flanette Hospital: “Go and tell all the crazy people who explain to us every day that we should quarrel with Algeria.”
"chaotic system"
He added to a doctor who hails from the city of Oran, western Algeria: “The system of doctors who hold certificates from countries outside the European Union is chaotic. It drives me crazy and reveals the absurdity of the French system.”
Read also: The suffering of foreign doctors in France: “Why don’t they evaluate me based on my experience here?”
Macron also expressed his regret for not making the lives of these doctors easier, by requiring them to re-pass the competitions, even though they contribute on a daily and direct basis to combating the phenomenon of medical desertification that many French regions suffer from, especially the countryside.
He said: "They are wonderful people. We employ them and they practice medicine and work in hospitals. But when the day comes when they have to be officially and administratively confirmed, we return them completely to square one and force them to pass a competition just to complicate matters for everyone."
Macron added critically: “The National Health Insurance Fund runs the system with an old mentality. That is, the prevailing idea in everyone’s minds is to organize the medical sector through supply, and therefore the more obstacles we put in front of people and for a longer period, the better because it will cost us less.” He continued: "What should be done is exactly the opposite. We have a system that runs on top of it."
Algerian doctor: “There is a political will to exclude foreign doctors”
Statistics show that the number of doctors who obtained their academic degrees from outside the European Union and officially practice their medical profession in France reached 19,154 doctors in January 2025. Their percentages were distributed as follows: 38.8% from Algeria, 15.1% from Tunisia, 8.6% from Syria, 7.4% from Morocco, and 4% from Lebanon.
For his part, Abdel Halim Ben Saadi, an Algerian doctor specializing in diabetes at Nanterre Hospital, west of Paris, was surprised by Macron’s statements.
He said in a telephone interview with Radio South (Sud Radio): “The French president knows well the situation of foreign doctors. The evidence is that he touched on this issue during a press conference he organized in January 2023. But despite the passage of three years, the problem still exists.”
He added: "The file of foreign doctors always returns to the political forefront when we approach electoral dates. But in reality, this file is not political, but purely medical, and is related to the health of French citizens, and must therefore be taken seriously."
He continued: "Every time we raise this problem to political officials, they pretend as if they are discovering it for the first time. This is what the President of the Republic did yesterday in particular, knowing that he addressed it at least three years ago."
Abdel Halim Ben Saadi pointed out that there is “a political will to exclude foreign doctors, even though they obtained high marks in French national competitions, and despite the availability of job positions as well.”
About 2,000 euros for a foreign doctor and 4,000 euros for a French doctor
Regarding the fate of doctors who did not succeed in the national competitions, Abdel Halim bin Saadi confirmed that the majority of them continue to work in the hospitals where they are located, but with fragile and unstable contracts, in addition to receiving very weak salaries compared to the medical services they provide.
He revealed, for example, that “a foreign doctor earns between 1,400 and 2,000 euros per month, while a French doctor’s salary exceeds 4,000 euros.” He concluded by saying: "If Macron wants to help us, he is able to do so because he has the powers to make the decision."
Read also: Foreign doctors are threatened with losing their jobs in France
As for Hayat Walhaj, a doctor at Tannoun Hospital in Paris who specializes in oncology, she told France 24 that her fragile administrative situation prevents her from signing a long-term employment contract, even though she works every day at the hospital.
She said: "I do not understand why the French provinces do not want to settle our administrative situation once and for all. We work every day and provide medical services to everyone, but in return we live in a fragile administrative situation and we fear that we will be deported every time we go to renew our residency papers."
She concluded: "If the situation continues like this, I will leave France and go to Belgium or Switzerland, where treatment is much better."
Bruno Rutayo criticizes Macron's non-"firm" statements regarding Algeria
Reactions continued regarding the statements made by Macron, as Bruno Rotayo, former Minister of the Interior and head of the “Republicans” party and its candidate for the 2027 presidential elections, considered that the “false pretext” presented by Macron aims to “hide the real problems” with Algeria.
Rutayo said in a statement: “Emmanuel Macron attacked those who, like me, support a firm approach with Algeria, considering it a false pretext that only aims to hide the real problems.”
France 24
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