Deputies on Wednesday, November 29, by a large majority deleted an article in the “immigration” bill introduced by senators that aimed to convert State Medical Assistance (AME) into simple emergency medical assistance (AMU).

“The National Assembly Legal Affairs Commission has just restored state medical assistance. It was important. This is a fair and strong position for an essential, effective and evaluated public health system.”Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau responded on the social network X.

The general rapporteur of the bill, Florent Boudié (Renaissance), stressed that this is an issue that falls within the scope of the bill “individual health” but also from one “Question of collective health”. However, that’s not the point “Closing the Debate”. A report on the subject, written by Patrick Stefanini and Claude Evin, is due on December 4th.

This rejection is not surprising since the majority had stated from the outset that it would not maintain this provision, which converted the AME into “AMU.” That is a “Obvious legislative rider”Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin reiterated on Wednesday that it is a provision that has no direct connection with the text and is therefore likely to be refuted by the Constitutional Council.

Only the LR and the RN were in favor of abolishing the AME

Laurent Marcangeli, leader of the Horizons group in the assembly, also considered that the measure had no place within the immigration text and called for it “The Prime Minister is quickly setting the terms of this debate, why not during a Finance Amendment Bill”.

The left unanimously rejected the measure. The abolition of state medical aid would be “medically dangerous, economically absurd, morally unworthy”, estimated the leader of the socialist group in the National Assembly, Boris Vallaud. The AME budget represents “0.5% of the social security budget”A “Drops of water in the ocean”For his part, reiterated Benjamin Lucas from the environmental group.

Only the Republicans and the Rassemblement National (RN) supported this abolition, which was now proposed by Marine Le Pen “many years”, as RN MP Yoann Gillet recalled. The Senate voted on first reading in early November to replace government medical assistance with emergency medical assistance, with a reduced care basket refocused on managing emergency care, serious illness, acute pain, pregnancy-related care, and even vaccinations.