France admits more foreign doctors than ever before, but inequalities remain

Doctors and nurses in an operating room in the Lyon Croix-Rousse Hospital, September 2023. Nearly one in ten doctors in France has a diploma from outside the EU, and the health ministry would like to facilitate more, even as the doctors are speaking up about their unequal treatment in the health system. © Jeff Pachoud/AFP

Nearly 4,000 doctors with qualifications from outside the European Union passed France’s medical licensing exam last year, according to the Health Ministry. While this marks an increase from the previous year, foreign doctors have voiced frustration over restrictive quotas and unequal treatment within the French healthcare system.

More than 3,800 doctors with degrees from outside the European Union passed the mandatory exam to practice in France, the EVC, in 2024, the French Ministry of Health said Thursday in a statement.