France: Nursing home employees stage protest demanding pay hike

Nurses in France took to streets on May 25 to call for better salaries as coronavirus continues to exhaust them. According to reports, demonstrators gathered outside care homes owned by the Korian group in Paris, Lille and other French cities. This comes as the French government formally opened two months of talks with healthcare workers over changes to France's public health system. 

Earlier this month, country's President Emanuel Macron was met with angry reception at Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris. The French leader made a visit earlier this week, in a bid to cheer up those battling COVID-19 on the frontline. However, he was roasted and questioned by dozens of underequipped, ill-paid and "desperate" nurses.  

According to reports, upon his visit, Macron asked the nurses to let “good energy fall and despair set in”. However, this did not go well with sone nurses who hammered him with their grievances. The president's office had already anticipated the angry reception and fearing damage to Macron’s image, they did not allow for any media to record his visit. 

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Macron promises hike in salary

Following the roast, Macron could be heard reiterating that he has promised a spike in salaries and financial bonuses for the healthcare workers battling COVID-19. However, he was soon confronted by another nurse, who said that the bonus was nice – "we’ll take it anyway,” but France is still “one of the countries where nurses are the most poorly paid anyway.” She then claimed that with each promise, the government adds conditions.  

 Over 14,000 people have died in care homes in France, accounting for nearly half of the total fatalities in the nation. As per John Hopkins University, France is the seventh-worst hit nation by the COVID-19 with over 182,709 positive cases. Also, a total of 28,370 had died while 64,735 recovered. 

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Image credit: AP