French doctors went on strike Tuesday in protest of an upcoming health bill, prompting fears that hospitals already bracing for a busy Christmas period will be seriously overrun.
Three unions have called on general practitioners to close up shop in protest at certain aspects of the bill, which notably would allow pharmacists to vaccinate patients -- an act that is currently almost exclusively reserved for doctors.
The bill also seeks to set up a system whereby patients would no longer have to be reimbursed retroactively for doctors' visits, with social security directly paying GPs instead. The proposed change has prompted fears of payment delays.
According to Claude Leicher, head of MG France, one of the unions calling the strike, between 40 and 80 percent of GPs followed the work stoppage on Tuesday in different areas.
Another powerful GPs and specialists union -- CSMF -- also called on its members to strike from Wednesday until December 31, worsening the situation at a time of festive excesses and prevalent flu and gastroenteritis.
As such, hospitals are bracing for an influx of patients who would normally have consulted on-duty doctors, on top of those who usually flock to emergency rooms.
At the best of times, the average wait in Paris emergency rooms is close to four hours.
The situation had initially been expected to be much worse, as overworked ER doctors had also planned to go on strike to demand better overtime pay and fewer hours.
But that planned work stoppage was cut short after successful negotiations with the government.