Your local pharmacy could be closed on Saturday, as France’s pharmacists’ unions call for closures to protest against a change in how much they can discount generic drugs.
French pharmacists’ unions have called for nationwide mobilisation on Saturday, in response to a government decree limiting how much pharmacists can discount generic medications.
As a result, thousands of pharmacies across France could be closed on Saturday.
In some areas, up to 90 percent of pharmacies could be closed, namely in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, as well as the Côte-d’Or, Saône-et-Loire and Gers départements, according to a prediction from the head of the USPO pharmacist union, Pierre-Olivier Variot.
Variot told local news outlet France Bleu, “We are not on strike. We will be closed to consider what to do next, and whether there will be closures and redundancies.”
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Instead, the pharmacies will be having ‘an exceptional closure’, according to the USPO flyer.
Meanwhile many pharmacies will be closed or operating with reduced hours on Friday, due to the Assumption bank holiday, you can check online to find your nearest ‘Pharmacie de garde’.
READ MORE: What’s open and what’s closed in France on August 15th
What is the government decree related to discounts?
The decree, which was published on August 4th, stands to decrease the size of the discount that drug manufacturers allow pharmacists to apply to generic drugs.
Historically, these legally regulated discounts were created to promote the wider distribution of generic drugs.
Currently, manufacturers can allow pharmacists to mark down generic drugs by up to 40 percent. However, this will drop down to 30 percent starting September 1st. In 2027, it will decrease again to 20 percent.
For pharmacists, the decrease in discount would affect their profit margins, as the system allowed them to take home a portion of the drug price, thanks to Social Security reimbursing the drug at its full price.
Pharmacists fear that the change could force one in three pharmacies (or 6,000 in total) to close, particularly smaller, rural locations.
Why is the government changing the discount rules?
The change is part of the government’s plan to cut healthcare spending by €1.7 billion in 2025. As part of that, the government hoped to cut at least €500 million in spending on medications via negotiated price reductions with manufacturers, BFMTV reported.
Will there be more mobilisation?
Unions had been anticipating the government’s announcement. In July, two other unions, the FSPF and the UNPF, which also represent pharmacists, along with the USPO, called for an ‘indefinite strike by on-call (garde) staff starting on September 1st.
Unions have also called for another day of pharmacy closures on September 18th, and then continuous closures every Saturday beginning on September 27th, Ouest France reported.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
