Some have changed jobs, switched lifestyle or left the public hospital system for the private sector. When they look back on this unprecedented period, they all mention, sometimes with great emotion, the memory of a unique "mobilization" and "solidarity" among healthcare workers. But they note, with bitterness, that very few lessons have been learned from this particular moment. The population seems to have forgotten the need to protect itself, and the public authorities have not undertaken a reform of the healthcare system commensurate with needs. Among white coats, hope for structural change has faded. At the Health Ministry, ministers have come and gone (there have been nine since 2020), but there has been no "next world."

"I chose quality of life over a public system at the end of its tether"

Lucas Reynaud, 34, emergency doctor and sports physician in private practice

"At the end of my medical studies, after Covid, I asked myself whether I wanted to continue in the voation of the public hospital – in other words, 48-hour contracts, five weeks' leave a year and few compensatory time days – or aspire to something else. I signed up for a position in intensive care at Montélimar Hospital (eastern France). Eventually, I left.

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