This Pentecost Monday, pharmacists on duty are on strike. They denounce the deterioration of their working conditions and the drop in the prices of reimbursable medicines.
On this public holiday Monday, it will undoubtedly be difficult to find an on-call pharmacy near you. They have been on strike since the start of the Pentecost weekend.
In Nanterre, in Hauts-de-Seine, Matthieu Saulnier explains that pharmacists are “paid on fees which have not changed for 4 years. We are in an economic principle where we lower the price of reimbursable medicines so our margin melts like snow in the sun..”
Another problem according to the pharmacist: “our working conditions are becoming more and more difficult. There are supply problems which impact us and all French people. We can’t get medicine.”
According to him, manufacturers choose to sell drugs to neighboring countries such as Switzerland or Belgium because the prices are more attractive than in France. “When they can sell the same medicine for between 1 and 3 euros in France and between 16 and 25 euros elsewhere, their choice is quickly made..” Ultimately, pharmacists fear the sale of medicines on websites.
“We are for the use of the Internet, but the local network remains essential for public health and the life of the country“, according to Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France (FSPF). The Federation is calling for a new day of strike on May 30.
The list of pharmacies open in Île-de-France is available on this site. Every year, around thirty pharmacies close in the region according to figures from the Order of Pharmacists and the CPAM.
With Sophie Béchir
#French
