‘Exhausted’ French doctors march through the streets demanding help to battle Covid crisis

Police raid homes of top politicians amid anger over government response

Medical workers demand better salaries and working conditions in France. AP 

French health workers have marched in the streets demanding the government hire more staff to cope with a second wave of coronavirus.

Doctors and nurses said Thursday they were exhausted and demanded better working conditions.

In Nice, they sent postcards to President Emmanuel Macron detailing their grievances.

Marching through the streets, some in scrubs and surgical masks, the healthcare workers called for an end to hospital closures, more staff for emergency rooms and nursing homes, and better pay.

In a direct message to Mr Macron, who announced nightly curfews in virus hotspots on Wednesday, the protesters said: "Hire more. Train more. We're exhausted."

Mr Macron said the curfews in the Paris region and eight other cities would drastically reduce the number of daily new coronavirus cases from the current 20,000 and ease the strain on intensive care units, without shutting down the economy.

Covid patients now occupy nearly half of all intensive care beds in the greater Paris region, health authorities said.

Hospitals in the capital were being told to cancel a third of non-Covid procedures.

Police raid homes of top politicians 

The protests came a day after the homes of France’s top politicians and health officials were raided by police as part of an investigation into the government’s handling of the pandemic.

Former prime minister Edouard Philippe, current health minister Olivier Veran and former health minister Agnes Buzyn were among the politicians caught up in the dawn searches.

On July 3, the Law Court of the Republic - a special court established to try cases of ministerial misconduct - launched a judicial investigation into the official handling of the pandemic following dozens of complaints by doctors, local authorities and nursing homes.

The inquiry was intended to establish whether there had been a "lack of will to fight a disaster" from those in charge at the outbreak of the epidemic.

The government also faced criticism over shortages of equipment and slow response times.

The special court hears cases of alleged wrongdoing by ministers and other government officials.

For the claims to be substantiated, there would have to be evidence that officials knowingly failed to take obvious steps that would have saved lives.

A further 22,951 cases were confirmed on Wednesday.

Mr Macron said a curfew between 9pm and 6am would be in place for four weeks from Saturday.

"We have to act,” he said. “We need to put a brake on the spread of the virus.”