“We have before us a crisis, an epidemic that is coming. That supposes to organize oneself and to face it at best ", affirms, laconic, Emmanuel Macron. In front of the ten doctors from La-Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris (13th century) whom he has in front of him, the Head of State is not fatalistic, but realistic: the coronavirus is well on its way to spread over the whole France. "We must keep a discourse of truth and allow things to be organized calmly," he adds, looking serious.
Just before flying to the Franco-Italian summit in Naples, it was in this Parisian hospital, where the day before the death of a 60-year-old man from Oise, that he went to the premieres yesterday hours of the day. Two hours of a secret visit until the last moment, accompanied by the new Minister of Health Olivier Véran, but also by Jérôme Salomon, the Director General of Health, and Martin Hirsch, the boss of the AP-HP (Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris). Way of sending the signal that at the highest levels of power, we have taken the measure of the issue and that we intend to assume its responsibilities. It is moreover the first time that the President of the Republic intervened in this way on the subject since the beginning of the epidemic.
VIDEO. "You can count on us ... The opposite remains to be proven"
But the message of this Thursday also had another vocation: to send unconditional support to health personnel confronted with the management of this large-scale health crisis. "All of our fellow citizens count on you and know how to recognize your professionalism," praises Emmanuel Macron in front of them, in a small room in the brand new Eole building, which houses the resuscitation service and the treatment of respiratory illnesses. Except that in return, it was to the weariness of a staff faced with glaring lack of means that he had to respond.
“We are exhausted. We gave a lot in two days, ”said a doctor, after the influx of patients arriving in the emergency room. "If we have 1,000 people, the system will have no problem taking charge. But if it is 10,000 people or 10 million in a very limited space of time, we will have great difficulties ", warns in turn Professor Eric Caumes, head of the infectious diseases department, while admitting that" the virus is probably transmitted much better than we thought ”.
More cash, this questioning in front of the cameras of Doctor François Salachas, neurologist and member of the inter-hospital collective: “When it was necessary to save Notre-Dame, there were many people. But here I tell you: we must save the public hospital because it is burning up, ”he attacked first. He denounces the 900 positions currently vacant, "and the fact that we see nothing coming."
"Lacks are urgent"
Macron said nothing at first. “The gaps are urgent. Without the rapid injection of resources, we will not be able to face this type of crisis! "Continues, alarmist, the doctor, assuring that" the situation has worsened and that it is now up to the President of the Republic, the protector of the nation, to act ".
"I'm not in denial", answers Macron
Stung to the heart, the Head of State replied: "I am not in denial and I know you have the feeling that things are not going fast enough [...] But there are emergency measures that have been taken several times, "he argues, recalling the end of the numerus clausus, the drop in hospital prices and the plan presented this fall with a resumption of debt and the creation of new premiums. A little bitter, too, he said he had "sometimes the impression of paying the addition of many accounts that remained open" by his predecessors. "He expected this kind of criticism, commented one of his relatives after the fact. But that didn't stop him from going there. It is not the president of avoidance ”. And the least we can say is that it has been served.
