A medical degree obtained in Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia is treated in France as a qualification from outside the European Union. Its holder is a PADHUE and reaches full practice through the authorisation procedure, which combines knowledge verification tests, a supervised period of hospital practice and, at the end, registration with the medical council.
A descriptive expression in French administrative language; exercer, from Latin exercere, to practise or carry on, designates here the lawful exercise of a regulated profession.
Exercice de la médecine en France avec un diplôme étranger; accès à l'exercice pour les praticiens à diplôme hors Union européenne
Practising medicine in France with a non-EU diploma
France regulates medical practice on the basis of where the diploma was issued, not where the holder was trained clinically or how experienced they are. A degree from Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia is therefore a third-country qualification, unlike a degree from a member state of the European Union, which is assessed under Directive 2005/36/EC. The holder of such a degree is designated in French practice as a PADHUE, a practitioner holding a diploma from outside the Union. Conditions relating to nationality and to professional standing also apply to medical practice in France and are examined individually, so your personal situation should be verified with the competent authorities before you plan around a particular route.
Access runs through the procedure for authorisation to practise. Its first stage is the knowledge verification tests, organised by specialty, with a written examination and a verification of language proficiency; candidates apply for a given specialty and are selected within the places opened for it. Successful candidates then complete a supervised period of practice in a French hospital, during which their competence is assessed in a real department by physicians who report on it. The file is then examined by a national commission, whose opinion leads to a decision by the competent ministry. Authorisation is what opens registration with the Ordre des médecins, and only registration makes independent practice lawful.
The procedure is demanding in time and in preparation, and it is worth planning for several years rather than several months. Language is not a secondary matter: clinical French, the vocabulary of medical records and the ability to conduct a consultation are assessed and used daily. Many practitioners work in French hospitals during the procedure under specific statuses that allow supervised practice, which is professionally useful but is not the same thing as full authorisation. It is also worth knowing that certain French university qualifications designed for foreign physicians are training diplomas: they certify a period of specialised training in France but do not by themselves confer the right to practise there.
For a young person from the Maghreb who has not yet started medical school, there is a structurally different route: studying medicine in a member state of the European Union from the outset. A diploma issued by a member state is assessed under the directive rather than as a third-country qualification, which changes the recognition framework entirely, although the personal situation of a non-EU national still has to be examined individually with the French authorities. The reverse plan also remains open, since a European degree can be recognised at home in order to practise in Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia. What matters is to identify, before enrolling anywhere, which of the two systems your future diploma will belong to.
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