To tackle the country's doctor shortage the French government has proposed to double the number of health centres, develop telemedecine services (for example consultations over the phone and online) and improve the delegation of tasks between medical professionals.

 

But where exactly in France is it easiest to find a doctor, and where is it hardest?

 

According to a survey from January 2017 by the French medical authority Ordre National des Medecins, there are eight parts in France where a higher than average number of doctors operate. 

 

The survey used the old regional system, when the country was split into 22 different regions instead of today's 13. 

 

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The dark blue areas on the map indicate the departments where there are more that 450 doctors per 100,000 people. The light yellow shows the worst case scenario, indicating the departments where there are fewer than 290 doctors per 100,000 people. 

 

The light blue, turquoise and green show the areas that fall in between the two.  

 

Unfortunately for those in Brittany, the region was among the worst served in France, along with Corsica and the old regions of Pays de la Loire,  Centre-Val de Loire, Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardie, as well as the country's overseas territories (except la Réunion). 

 

But there was some good news for those living in the south of France, with the popular Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region (PACA) region coming at the very top of the list. 

 

Close behind were the former regions of Aquitaine, Limousin, Poitou-Charentes, Bourgogne, Franche-Comté and the greater Paris region of l'Ile-de-France.

 

In these regions there are mostly upwards of 390 doctors operating per 100,000 people, and in some cases even more.