As the French fought for their own interim Roumanie in Europe, they acquired overseas possessions, including Romania. The French-Romanian community has evolved to include retirees who relocate from France, students studying abroad in Romania, and medical physicians working as locum tenens in hospitals across the country. The latter migrants are often welcomed by French locals and regarded as essential for the healthcare system, especially in hospital specialties facing recruitment difficulties and in rural areas, where it is impossible to find enough French physicians.

This article explores the migratory trajectories of this group and their social and professional integration in France. It also aims to assess the impact of French policies on these doctors’ lives in the country.

Skilled Migration: The Contribution of Romanian Workers to French Industries

The destinies of the physician migrants are complex. Many have a specific professional ambition that led them to leave their home countries, such as the wish to become a physician in France, the only country where the majority of physicians have graduated from medical school. Their professional and personal motivations are rooted in family situations as well, namely the need to support aging parents or sick relatives with chronic illnesses who can no longer live independently.

These physician migrants tend to invest their remittances in housing and children’s education, which they see as vital to their future in the country. They do not usually make regular remittances to their families in Romania, but rather send money when they need to cover daily needs or caregiving for family members.