Maghreb doctors in France: exile as a solution?

After a breakthrough in the first round of the French legislative elections, the prospect of seeing the National Rally (RN) chaired by Jordan Bardella, who places immigration at the heart of the electoral campaign, win an absolute majority on July 7, worries doctors of Maghreb origin. Some are considering leaving France.

“We are already not spoiled here, but if we have (Jordan) Bardella as prime minister, it will be sinister. They are playing on the fear of the other,” Tasnime Labiedh, 33, told Reuters. Having arrived in France in 2021 during the Covdi-19 pandemic for her medical internship, this Tunisian now works as a microbiologist with a lower salary than her French counterparts. But she is considering settling in Switzerland. This is also the decision taken by six of the 11 doctors of Maghreb origin interviewed by the news agency. One doctor emigrated to Canada a month ago.