Health professionals urge government: Open letter demands robust suicide prevention

Paris – 09.07.2026: In an open letter, numerous health professionals addressed the French government and warned of a creeping demobilization in suicide prevention. The signatories — including hospital doctors, nurses, psychologists and managerial staff from crisis services — speak of a “dilution risk” to existing programs and call for binding commitments on financing, staffing and structural reforms.

They cite the persistently high level of suicide mortality as a central reason. According to analyses by Santé publique France, around 9,000 people still die by suicide in France each year. That equates to roughly one person per hour. The experts see a discrepancy between public commitments to prevention and the actual capacities available in hospitals, emergency departments, psychiatric services and outpatient offerings.

The criticism focuses above all on follow-up care after suicide attempts and the stability of regional networks. Programs such as VigilanS — a system that proactively contacts affected persons after an attempt — and crisis structures are cited; in many places they suffer from staffing shortages, high turnover and temporary financing. Connections to GP practices, schools, workplaces and social services are also patchy; first points of contact need systematic training to recognize warning signs and refer cases quickly.

Specifically, the authors demand multi-year, earmarked financing for crisis services, binding follow-up pathways after discharges from emergency departments and psychiatric units, nationwide training for health and social care personnel and closer integration with the Observatoire national du suicide. The latter should collect more up-to-date data on risk factors and feed them back to service providers more quickly, in order to guide measures on an evidence basis.

For months the Ministry of Health has pointed to ongoing programs and national helplines as well as initiatives on mental health. However, epidemiological reporting shows only a slow decline or stagnation in suicide-related mortality in many places. From the professionals’ perspective, ad hoc project funding is not sufficient as long as fundamental staffing and structural deficits persist.

The intervention comes at a politically charged time: Parliament is simultaneously debating end-of-life issues. From the health sector comes the reminder that prevention, care and the legal framework must be coherently designed so that no additional gaps in provision arise at sensitive transitions — for example at discharges, in community psychiatry or in youth services. The open letter demands a timetable with measurable milestones and transparent earmarking of funds. By the editorial deadline, a comprehensive response from the government had not been received.