French President Emmanuel Macron sharply attacked the advocates of a break with Algeria, according to his statements reported by the French media, during his visit today, Monday, April 27, to the medical center located in the Ariège region in southern France, where he encountered the reality that was often absent from the French public debate during this recent crisis between Paris and Algeria, despite the fact that The topic of immigration was prevalent during the discussions.
Today, about 7,500 Algerian doctors work in French hospitals, which represents more than a third of the doctors who studied outside the European Union working in France, and they work especially in the areas called “Medical desertWhere the population does not have sufficient access to health care, in addition to working under a discriminatory system.
According to Agence France-Presse, when the French President was asked by the center’s workers about the situation of doctors who hold certificates from outside the European Union, he raged, saying: “The system is still chaotic. It drives me crazy! It is the madness of the French system.”
The French President expressed his regret for not facilitating the lives and work of these doctors by requiring them to re-pass exams to obtain permanent jobs, or the possibility of opening their own clinics, and that their wages are lower than their counterparts, doctors who hold certificates from European Union countries.
Macron pointed out, “These are outstanding people that we employ, who practice medicine and work in hospitals, and then when the time comes to give them permanent jobs, we start all over again, as they have to pass a competitive exam just to complicate things for everyone.”
Macron continued: “The National Health Insurance Fund is using the old system. In other words, everyone believes that regulation of the medical sector should be based on supply, so the longer we complicate things for people, the better, because it will cost us less.”
According to what was reported by the channel “TF1French President Macron responded to an Algerian doctor who studied medicine at Oran State University, in front of the journalists who covered the visit, criticizing those calling for a break with Algeria without naming them, “Go and say this to all these crazy people who say that we must quarrel with Algeria,” adding angrily, “What genius…!”
The number of doctors registered with the French Medical Council on January 1, 2025, who studied medicine outside the European Union and officially practice medicine in France, reached 19,154 doctors. 38.8% of them studied in Algeria, 15.1% in Tunisia, 8.6% in Syria, 7.4% in Morocco, and 4% in Lebanon.
And according French official statisticsApproximately 87% of French territory is classified as areas that suffer from a severe lack of medical services. This is not limited to rural areas, but extends to some medium-sized cities, and even the suburbs of cities suffer from the difficulty of ensuring rapid access to treatment.
The French President did not name these “crazy people” whom he attacked, but everyone still remembers the statements and positions of his former Interior Minister, Breno Ritayo, towards Algeria, or the statements of many right-wing and far-right political figures who worked to poison relations between the two countries, such as the National Rally Party and its leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella.
It is the party that submitted a proposal approved by the French National Assembly in October 2025, condemning the 1968 migration agreement with Algeria, agreements that Algeria warned against violating. It is the same proposal that was presented before Le Pen’s party, MP Eric Ciotti, and his small party, the “Union of the Right for Democracy,” before it It will be withdrawn in June 2026.
In the context of Algerian-French relations, and in another file, the President of the French Employers Association, Patrick Martin, arrived in Algeria, where he met on Sunday with the President of the Algerian Economic Renewal Council, Kamal Mawla, where the Council wrote: His official page on Facebook: “In an international context characterized by geopolitical tensions and energy and climate challenges, it has become more necessary than ever to strengthen formations based on restoring trust, mutual interests and integration.”
The head of the most important employers’ organization in France had stated before his four-day visit to Algeria that he believed in “economic diplomacy” and its role in strengthening the tense relations between Algeria and Paris, and therefore “if the business world, for its part, can contribute to calming relations, because Algeria is an important partner for France in general, and for its economy in particular, then if I can make my contribution to that, that would be a good thing.”
The President of the Arab World Institute, Anne-Claire LeGondre, is also expected to come to Algeria, where the new President of the Institute, who was elected in mid-February, is expected to meet with officials and prominent figures in the Algerian cultural scene.
This change in discourse and Paris’ view of Algeria is commented on by some as French attempts to rectify and open a hole in the wall of the crisis due to its many mistakes with… AlgeriaEspecially with this tense international context that the world is experiencing today.
