Medical Deserts: Young Doctors Step Up | M6 | 66 minutes

Aveyron, Creuse, Mayenne, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the far reaches of the Manche… Not exactly dream destinations at first glance. And yet it’s here, in these medical deserts, that young, newly qualified doctors have chosen to practice, and even to settle down, sometimes bringing their whole family with them.

In a few days, 29-year-old Jade will see her first patients in Mansigné, a village of 1,500 people south of Le Mans. For her first post, the young doctor from the south of France is replacing the village’s last remaining GP, who is about to retire. The town hall is rolling out the red carpet: six months rent-free, and even a place to stay while she and her partner finish renovating the house they’ve just bought for themselves and their two young children.

As for Baptiste, who opened a practice in Marseille two years ago straight out of medical school, he too has decided to move, to feel more useful than in a big city. His destination: the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, a medical desert with many elderly residents who can’t always travel to see a doctor. A keen climber, he discovered the area through Médecins Solidaires, an association that sends doctors on temporary assignments to places that have had no GP for years. For Baptiste, it was love at first sight. He’s now actively looking for a house in a small town where he’s awaited like a savior.