New French PM targets 30-minute health access for all
Network of 5,000 'France Sant茅' centres planned by 2027
Prime Minister S茅bastien Lecornu said he would personally oversee the creation of the 鈥淔rance Sant茅鈥� network of health centres
Yuri A / Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock
A network of 5,000 'France Sant茅鈥�' centres is to be created to ensure that every French resident can reach a medical service in under 30 minutes under proposals from Prime Minister S茅bastien Lecornu, with the centres to be in place by 2027.
He outlined the proposal on September 13 during his first trip outside Paris since taking office, visiting a departmental health centre in M芒con, Sa么ne-et-Loire.
The prime minister said he would oversee the project personally - describing it as 鈥渘ational priority鈥� - but did not give any indication as to its cost.
The proposed 'France Sant茅' structures would follow the model of the 'France Services' one-stop shops, designed to provide local points of access for state services.
Mr Lecornu argued that healthcare provision must be anchored at the level of 鈥渂assins de vie鈥� (local living areas) and not left to geography alone.
The creation of the France Sant茅 network will have to be written into both the state and social security budgets.
He stressed that the issue of access to care 鈥渃annot wait until the presidential election of 2027鈥� and announced forthcoming talks with health professionals at the Ministry of Health.
Mr Lecornu鈥檚 announcement comes as he prepares the 2026 budget, which must pass without a stable parliamentary majority.
France鈥檚 medical deserts
Successive governments have attempted to address the problem of France鈥檚 鈥榤edical deserts鈥� with various measures aimed at drawing both salaried and independent practitioners to these areas.
However, Mr Lecornu鈥檚 proposed 'France Sant茅' network is likely to spark debate between salaried and independent practitioners whom the previous government had sought to draw to underserved areas by making it easier for them to set up new clinics.
France already has more than 2,500 health centres and 2,501 maisons de sant茅 pluriprofessionnelles (MSP), which bring together doctors, nurses and other practitioners under one roof.
The official target is to reach 4,000 MSPs in the coming years. However, distribution remains uneven, with many concentrated in urban areas.
Many professional unions favour MSPs, where doctors remain independent but work in shared premises, unlike health centres, which are managed by public or associative bodies and employ salaried doctors.
They argue that independent practitioners in MSPs can carry heavier workloads and provide more care than salaried colleagues.
Salaried practitioners in health centres must apply standard healthcare fees and accept third-party payments, while also meeting obligations on opening hours.
In 2024, six million people in France had no registered family doctor, and 87% of the country was classed as a medical desert.
Plan faces scepticism
While full plans for the 'France Sant茅' scheme remain unclear, many believe it will see many existing structure re-labelled.
The system will "probably be a form of certification, because you can't create 5,000 facilities from scratch," said , co-founder and president of M茅decins Solidaires Martial Jardel to FranceInfo on Sunday (September 14).
Others believe the plan fails to address the key issue, which is a lack of available medical practitioners.
"90% of French women already live within 30 minutes of a general practitioner," said president of the Union des rempla莽ants et jeunes g茅n茅ralistes de Bretagne Mathilde Chouquet to France3.
"It's just a publicity stunt... We often hear this idea of networking the region with health centers, but what we really lack is doctors to staff them," she added.
Areas of Brittany such as the commune of Brennilis (Finist猫re) show the crux of the issue.
It has a newly-renovated health centre opened at the start of 2025 that is primed to help residents, but there are no doctors to fill it.
Authorities have been looking for two doctors to work in the centre - even providing accommodation as part of the recruitment package - but no one has come forward.
The commune is included in one of the 151 areas set to receive additional medical coverage as part of new government plans to tackle medical deserts, but so far no doctors have come forward to offer to work in the area.
