The mayor of Grues (Vendée) Gilles Wattiau, who masked the word “
Equality
” on the pediment of his town hall to denounce medical desertification, was asked by the prefect to “
urgently
” remove the tarpaulin, a-t- we learned Wednesday, November 30 from concordant sources.
“
I took this action so that the people who regularly challenge me about the
lack of doctors
would not be abandoned by the Republic
,” Mr. Wattiau told AFP, stressing that in five years, the number of doctors present less than 10 km from Grues, a town of 900 inhabitants, went from seven to two, including one part-time.
“Intentionally polemical speech”
The elected official said he masked the word "
Equality
" from the Republican motto with black tape on the pediment of the town hall three weeks ago.
Access to specialists has also dropped drastically in recent years, according to the mayor.
“
Seven or eight years ago, we had dermatologists, a gynecologist and a cardiologist in Luçon, a town 20 minutes away whose emergency rooms are not always accessible.
Today, there is only one ophthalmologist left who is overwhelmed
, ”he lamented, recounting that one of his constituents had just obtained an appointment with a cardiologist for January … 2024.
"
It is not possible, in your capacity as mayor, to mobilize the power of the police or the symbolism of the Republic to make an intentionally polemical speech
", estimates the prefect of Vendée Gérard Gavory in his letter to the mayor, sent Tuesday evening to the hurry.
The mayor of Grues recalled that his "
rural commune brings together an elderly population, which has limited means, mobility difficulties and feels really forgotten
".
“True Measures”
The elected official, himself a 58-year-old retired nurse, planned to remove the black tape from the pediment of his town hall on Wednesday.
“
I regret that the prefect answered me on the form and not on the substance
”, he commented, enjoining the State to take “
real measures
” for the installation of doctors in rural areas.
On April 28, the mayor issued an order prohibiting in particular any inhabitant from being born with health problems or from needing to benefit from urgent access to care.