Automatic recognition is the mechanism by which France accepts a medical qualification awarded in another EU or EEA member state without re-examining the curriculum. It rests on Directive 2005/36/EC, which sets minimum training requirements common to all member states and lists the qualifications concerned.
from French reconnaissance automatique, recognition granted as of right under Directive 2005/36/EC
reconnaissance automatique des diplomes, libre circulation des medecins dans l'UE
automatic recognition of professional qualifications
The directive harmonises the minimum duration and content of basic medical training and of a number of speciality training programmes. Because every member state meets those requirements, a qualification appearing in the annexes of the directive is recognised as of right in the other member states. In practice the doctor submits the diploma, a certificate of conformity issued by the competent authority of the country where it was awarded and a certificate of good standing, and the Ordre National des Medecins registers the applicant on that basis. No French examination of the syllabus takes place.
Recognition concerns the qualification. Three further conditions are examined separately: command of French sufficient for practice, professional good standing, and the nationality requirement set by the Public Health Code, which carries its own special provisions. A speciality qualification is recognised where the speciality appears in the annexes under the country concerned; a title that exists in only some member states follows the general system rather than the automatic one, which usually means an individual comparison of training. Switzerland is covered by a separate agreement with the European Union, which matters to readers in the French-speaking cantons.
For a student from Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia this is the decisive point in choosing where to study. A medical degree obtained at a university in an EU member state, taught in French, English or another language, places the graduate in the recognition system for the whole Union, including France and Belgium. The nationality condition is examined separately from the diploma, so anyone in that situation should have their own case checked early rather than assume either the best or the worst. For a later return to the country of origin, the recognition of the European diploma at home is a separate procedure, usually based on the diploma itself with an apostille and the ECTS transcript.
Automatic recognition is often read as meaning immediate or effortless. It removes the examination of the curriculum, not the administrative file, and it does not exempt anyone from registration with the Ordre. It also has nothing to do with the procedure d'autorisation d'exercice, which applies to qualifications awarded outside the Union: the two routes never overlap, and it is the place where the diploma was awarded that decides which one applies.
Free and no obligation.