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France's response to the Covid-19 pandemic: between a rock and a hard place

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2021

Zeynep Or Open the ORCID record for Zeynep Or [Opens in a new window] ,
Coralie Gandré ,
Isabelle Durand Zaleski Open the ORCID record for Isabelle Durand Zaleski [Opens in a new window]  and
Monika Steffen
Zeynep Or*
Affiliation:
Institute for Research and Information in Health Economics (IRDES), Paris, France
Coralie Gandré
Affiliation:
Institute for Research and Information in Health Economics (IRDES), Paris, France
Isabelle Durand Zaleski
Affiliation:
AP-HP Santé Publique Hôpital Henri Mondor, Paris, France
Monika Steffen
Affiliation:
PACTE, University Grenoble-Alps, Grenoble, France
*
*Corresponding author. Email: or@irdes.fr
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Abstract

France is one of the European countries hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic brought into light structural weaknesses of the health system, including its governance and decision-making process, but also provoked changes that helped to improve its resilience. We analyse the French experience of Covid-19 in 2020 by critically reviewing major policy measures implemented during the first two waves of the pandemic. France has struggled to find the right balance between the rock of economic and social damage caused by containment measures and the hard alternative of a rapidly spreading pandemic. The response to the first wave, including a full lock-down, was an emergency response that revealed the low level of preparedness for pandemics and the overly hospital-centred provision of health care in France. During the second wave, this response evolved into a more level strategy trying to reconcile health needs in a broader perspective integrating socio-economic considerations, but without fully managing to put in place an effective health strategy. We conclude that to achieve the right balance, France will have to strengthen health system capacity and improve the cooperation between actors at central and local levels with greater participatory decision-making that takes into account local-level realities and the diversity of needs.

Keywords

CoronavirusFrancehealth governancepolicy measures
Type
Article
Information
Health Economics, Policy and Law , Volume 17 , Special Issue 1: SPECIAL ISSUE: Country Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic , January 2022 , pp. 14 - 26
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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