Pharmacists' strike: be careful, it could be difficult to find a pharmacy open this Pentecost weekend

Les pharmaciens appellent à faire grève ce week-end de la Pentecôte avant de fermer toutes les officines le 30 mai. Midi Libre – MICHAEL ESDOURRUBAILH

Les pharmaciens appellent à faire grève ce week-end de la Pentecôte avant de fermer toutes les officines jeudi 30 mai pour réclamer des revalorisations financières, alerter sur les pénuries de médicaments et des risques de libéralisation de la vente en ligne.

The Federation of Pharmacy Pharmacists (FSPF) and the Union of Community Pharmacists Unions (USPO) announced this Thursday, May 16, a mobilization on May 30 with the closure of the 20,500 pharmacies in France and demonstrations throughout the country.

On-call pharmacies closed throughout the country

Before this common day of mobilization, the USPO is even planning a strike of guards this weekend, "organized locally by the unions" which "will apply everywhere on the territory from Saturday 18 to Monday 20 May".

📣 L’USPO appelle à l’action pour défendre l’avenir de la #pharmacie d’officine. En point d’orgue : une journée de mobilisation et de grève des #pharmaciens le jeudi 30 mai 2024 !

🔍 Pour en savoir plus, rendez-vous sur ➡️ https://t.co/nXJOKZHszV pic.twitter.com/5TUZGqS07M

— USPO – Pharmaciens d’Officine (@USPO_Pharmacies) April 19, 2024

The last multilateral meeting with Health Insurance as part of the conventional negotiations, opening at the end of 2023, dissatisfied the representative unions.

For them, the account is not there. They want to continue negotiations on the aspect of revaluations proposed by health insurance. "The budget that is on the table does not allow all the pharmacies to be financed&quot ;, declared the president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France (FSPF), Philippe Besset, during a press conference.

Facing a dilemma

The health insurance revaluation proposal unveiled at the last multilateral meeting on Tuesday May 14 is "lower" to the additional billion euros compared to 2019 that the unions hoped for the network in 2025, and a "counter-proposal of negotiation" was sent on Wednesday to  the CNAM, underlines the FSPF. A response to this "counter-proposal" is expected early next week, the official added, saying face a dilemma.

"We will not reach the necessary budget but if we never take what is on the table we will lose hundreds of additional pharmacies& quot;, explains Philippe Besset, recalling that 46 pharmacies have closed since January, after 330 closures last year.

"And if we do not sign this agreement, rural pharmacies will not have the 20,000 euros at the start of the year. rsquo;year", aid intended for pharmacists who are "alone in a pharmacy, in an isolated village where there is no no doctor. "We have chosen to propose a fighting signature, to go to the end, to try to convince by all means the public authorities and the Health Insurance of the ’ imperative need to go further in revaluations", he added.

The branch of community pharmacies has more than 130,000 employees, a figure comparable to that of private clinics, which have also planned a strike from 3rd ;June.