As many as 9 mayors in France have put a ban on falling ill, in a bid to draw attention to the lack of doctors in the areas. A four-article decree has been signed by several mayors in rural areas of Sarthe that says people cannot opt for medical care because of accident or sickness.
Sarthe is located at about 200 km west of the French capital Paris and has been suffering from proper healthcare facilities for a while.
According to a report published in BBC, the mayors want to take the matter to the notice of the government and have hence even banned a person “to be born with health problems”.
Speaking to the BBC, Dominique Dhumeaux, president of the association of Sarthe mayors and mayor of the Fercé-sur-Sarthe, said that the survival of their territory was “at stake,” adding that the government must tackle the problem “head on”.
The decree has not been enforced by law but is rather a “symbolic” move by the rural mayors to throw the spotlight on frequent closure of medical facilities, bed shortage and low number of staffers in the area.
One line in the decree points out to the equality between rural areas and the capital. It says that if someone wishes to “access efficient health services” in Paris, they are permitted to move out.
Dhumeaux says there are about 70,000 people in the area without access to medical care. However, the scarcity is on the national level.
Over 1,000 French doctors resigned from their roles in January this year, owing to the poor condition of emergency health infrastructure.
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