Former French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of acting “unworthy” and lashed out over his criticism of rules forcing foreign doctors to pass French exams.
The row stems from a visit by Macron to Ariège on Monday, during which he criticized France’s system for non-EU medical staff, branding it chaotic and “upside down.”
The French president’s remarks came after he was pressed by healthcare workers about so-called Padhue doctors — foreign-trained medics who are increasingly being relied upon to plug gaps in France’s overstretched system.
“The Padhue system is still a mess. It drives me crazy,” Macron said. “They practise medicine, and when the time comes to make them permanent, they have to take another exam. We have a system that is upside down.”
Foreign-trained doctors working in French hospitals must sit further exams and pass a two-year probation period before being fully recognized.
But Le Pen hit back hard, defending strict testing requirements and accusing the president of lowering the tone of debate.
“I find Emmanuel Macron’s indignation over foreign doctors to be utterly unworthy,” she said. “It is entirely natural that in our country, we require foreign doctors to take an exam, just like French doctors, in order to ensure that the care provided is of the highest possible quality.”
Je trouve l'indignation d'Emmanuel Macron sur les médecins étrangers, indigne.
Il est tout à fait naturel que dans notre pays, nous fassions passer aux médecins étrangers un examen, au même titre qu'aux médecins français, afin d'être certains que les soins délivrés soient de la… pic.twitter.com/0KWAwVypZs
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) April 28, 2026She went further, accusing Macron of imitating the populist tone of U.S. President Donald Trump. “The Trumpization of Emmanuel Macron… means he is taking his cue from the President of the United States, who uses extremely crude language,” she said, calling his stance “outrageous.”
Macron’s remarks sparked a wider political fight over immigration and France’s relationship with Algeria, the largest country of origin for foreign-trained doctors in France. He attacked nationalists, calling them “madmen who say we should fall out with Algeria.”
More than 19,000 doctors in France are trained outside the EU, according to the French Medical Council. Of these, 38.8 percent studied in Algeria, 15.1 percent in Tunisia, 8.6 percent in Syria, 7.4 percent in Morocco, and 4 percent in Lebanon.
