More trained caregivers, no financial resources… What the government’s mental health plan contains (and what it doesn’t contain)

By The New Obs with AFP

Published on June 12, 2025 at 8:45 a.m.

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More adults trained in schools, a more transparent and graduated range of care, more trained caregivers: the government unveiled a plan on Wednesday, June 11, to try to better identify and treat mental disorders and also to make psychiatry more attractive. The thirty measures come in a year when mental health is a major national cause , but also in the wake of the murder of a middle school supervisor by a 14-year-old student.

This psychiatry plan is intended to be the "starting point" of "a lasting commitment," according to Yannick Neuder, Minister for Health and Access to Care, who unveiled these announcements. "We must rely primarily on the resources we have," he told "Le Parisien ," with the ministry not specifying whether funds would be released. The great national cause will be "not just a slogan," he recently stated, facing criticism of the executive's inaction, including from within the majority. So, here's what the government's plan contains (and what it doesn't contain).

• Promote early interventions

The first axis of the government plan aims to promote early detection and intervention in the face of mental health disorders, particularly among young people aged 12-25, incorporating certain measures announced in mid-May by Education Minister Elisabeth Borne, which unions deemed "narrow." Specifically, the government wants to train two adult reference persons in each middle and high school and in each primary and nursery school district by 2026, deploy a national model for early detection and intervention, and train 100% of school health staff in early detection.

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"Without financial resources, we don't really see how this can work," said Catherine Nave-Bekhti (CFDT Education), while "we are seriously short of nurses, doctors, school psychologists and social workers . " "We can't place the burden of this challenge solely on existing staff," said Sophie Vénétitay (Snes-FSU). There are also plans to mobilize health students from the health service working in schools to train young people in psychosocial skills and to train 300,000 mental health first aiders by 2027 - a doubling of the number.

The second axis aims to promote "community psychiatry that is both clear and accessible" to provide better treatment before, during and after an acute crisis. Among other measures: priority financial support for medical-psychological centers offering unscheduled appointment slots and intensive monitoring systems, and strengthening the regulation of psychiatric emergencies to direct patients to appropriate care.

In psychiatric emergency departments, the government wants teams to have diverse backgrounds (peer support workers, social workers, etc.) and training in alternatives to isolation and restraint. In urban areas, it aims to reach 12,000 psychologists approved for "My Psychological Support" by 2027, compared to 6,000 today.

To "rebuild" psychiatry, the third axis of its measures, the government intends to "strengthen the training" of medical students, with a module in advanced psychiatry in each faculty coupled with a practical internship. The number of psychiatry interns will be increased from 500 to 600 per year from 2027. As recommended in the report by MPs Dubré-Chirat and Rousseau, a mission will focus on working conditions in psychiatry , before an action plan in 2026.

Overall, "we can't make up for 10 years of procrastination and waiting in two spoonfuls. We're taking these half-measures, but they're not going to solve anything," declared Jean-Pierre Salvarelli (hospital psychiatrists' union). Deteriorating access, a shortage of resources, territorial inequalities, and fundamental rights being flouted: the Ethics Committee warned at the end of January about the crisis in psychiatry and the urgent need for an ambitious plan. Around a third of hospital practitioner positions are vacant and the number of beds has been reduced, while the number of patients has doubled over the past twenty years.

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