French liberal professions go on strike in battle to stave off deregulation

in Paris A strike yesterday by thousands of pharmacists, doctors, dentists, lawyers, notaries and other members of liberal professions was the latest episode in France’s battle to stave off change and economic deregulation.

The threat is vague, the government appears to be backing down before implementing reform and the far right-wing National Front seeks to exploit angst and dissatisfaction – all par for the course.

In July, then economy minister Arnaud Montebourg announced the government would present a law on "growth and purchasing power" to introduce an element of competition in 37 government-regulated professions. Montebourg said the law would "restore the equivalent of €6 billion in purchasing power to the French".

‘Preconceived ideas’

The law has not been drafted yet, and is supposed to be unveiled in about one month.

Emmanuel Macron

, who replaced Montebourg as economy minister in August, told

Paris-Normandie

newspaper that the protests were “against preconceived ideas about a project that was never mine,” adding that “a lot of false ideas are going around about it”.

Macron has done little to clarify what the “growth and purchasing power” law is actually about, though he promised “concerted solutions” will be found “in the next weeks”.

Ninety per cent of France's 22,000 pharmacies shut down yesterday. The 10 per cent which opened offered only emergency services. As a report by the French inspectorate general for social affairs made clear, France has a surfeit of pharmacies: one for every 2,560 inhabitants, compared to an average of one pharmacy for 3,300 people elsewhere in Europe.

French law requires owner-pharmacists to work in their shops, of which they can own only one. Yesterday’s strike reversed roles; pharmacy employees flooded trade union switchboards, complaining that their bosses demanded they go on strike, march in demonstrations, make up lost hours or lose a day’s wages.

The strike by liberal professions, such as the Air France pilots' strike which ended this week, is often disparaged as a movement of nantis or wealthy people. Ninety per cent of liberal professionals hold university degrees.

They are unanimous in opposing the lifting of the numerus clausus – numerical limitations on the number of French people allowed to study medicine, pharmacy, dental surgery, physical therapy and other health-related professions.

They also oppose the idea of opening up medical professions to outside investment, for example allowing businessmen to buy shares in medical laboratories. Three unions representing labs said “medical biology exams, which are the basis of 60 to 70 per cent of all diagnoses, must not fall into the hands of financial interests”.

Supermarket chain

All are afraid of something. The pharmacists fear the government will allow over-the-counter medication such as aspirin to be sold in supermarkets. During their march from Les Invalides to the Senate to the economy ministry yesterday, pharmacists booed the name of Michel-Édouard Leclerc, the owner of the Leclerc supermarket chain.

The dentists are afraid that dental technicians will be allowed to install dental prostheses. Ophthalmologists fear optometrists will usurp them in prescribing eyeglasses. Notaries are adamant that their fees, which are based on a percentage of property transactions, must not change, and that they must retain the monopoly on the drafting of deeds, wills and other legal documents.

National Front leader Marine Le Pen sniffed political expediency in yesterday's strike and posted an online petition opposing the reform. A statement issued by the FN called the proposed law "an ultra-liberal putsch against the French model, as willed by the EU and enacted by [France's ruling parties]."