On September 18, pharmacists, physiotherapists, and dentists were mobilized by an inter-union movement from the South Station to Garibaldi Square. Union representatives raised alarms about red lines in public health.
“Health in danger, caregivers, we are here,” over 500 pharmacists, physiotherapists, and dentists protested in Nice on September 18 starting from 3 PM, according to union representatives, to address medication issues, pharmacy closures, and regulations. With placards, flares, and megaphones in hand, health professionals made noise between South Station and Garibaldi Square. “Pharmacy in anger,” “The state wants to close your pharmacy,” “Will we care for you when we are closed?” could be read on the mobilization’s posters. In support of this, elected officials and citizens, such as the Horizon mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi and UDR deputy Éric Ciotti, mobilized.
“During the summer, former Prime Minister François Bayrou issued a ministerial decree that shifted 10% of pharmacists’ margins to the pharmaceutical industry. We struggle to understand why. It’s a gift made to this sector at the expense of local services,” lamented Raphaël Gigliotti, co-president of the Alpes-Maritimes pharmacies union. According to him, if this trend continues, one-third of pharmacies could close in France within two years.
This ministerial decree, effective from September 1, sets the discount cap for so-called “generic” drugs at 30% and at 15% for biosimilar drugs. After months of mobilization and discussions, according to the Union of Community Pharmacies, the anger of health professionals is immense.
Physiotherapists Supporting the Demonstration
On the physiotherapists’ side, who were also mobilized, François Randazzo, union president of Alizé physiotherapists, explains the reason for his presence: “In July 2023, the profession signed an agreement with Health Insurance, which included re-evaluations over three years and very restrictive counterparts, applied the day after signing.”
The re-evaluations were supposed to apply from 2024, according to the agreement. However, health professionals have not seen the end of this revaluation and it has been postponed to January 1, 2026. The reason, according to François Randazzo, is the potential risk of a budget overrun by the Health Insurance.
More than 95% of pharmacies in Alpes-Maritimes were closed that day. Across the department, fifteen were requisitioned by the prefecture, with three in Nice, according to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Health Agency.
According to a report from the Court of Auditors, published in May 2025, there are on average 30 pharmacies per 100,000 inhabitants in France. France is in line with the average of countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union.
In 2006, France had at its peak 23,162 pharmacies, but this has since decreased by 10% to 20,502 as of January 2024, even as the number of patients increased by 26%. The closures of these healthcare establishments more than doubled during the period 2015-2023, with 211 closures per year. Finally, this rise in closures persisted into 2024, with 216 establishments closing their doors.
