Affected categories, lack of care… Three questions on mental health, made a “major national cause” by Michel Barnier

The tenant of Matignon declared on Sunday evening that he wants, next year, to make mental health a “great national cause”. A subject that affects many French people, while resources are cruelly lacking in psychiatry.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier announced on Sunday evening’s 8pm news that he wanted to make mental health a “major national cause” in 2025. The observation is clear: the French are not in good shape. According to Public Health France, 12% of French people over the age of 18 have experienced a depressive episode in the past year. As for anxiety, 16% of adults have suffered from it in the past 12 months. In the most serious cases, 4% of people over the age of 18 have thought about suicide. Franceinfo answers three questions on this sensitive issue, which affects millions of French people.

Which population is most affected?

Young people are the most vulnerable population category, with even more worrying figures. Depressive disorders affect 21% of young people aged 18-24. Suicidal thoughts affect 7% of this category, particularly young women. The malaise has increased sharply since the Covid crisis, in the years 2020-2021.

Among those under 18, the consumption of antidepressants has increased by 60% in 7 years and hospitalizations and suicide attempts have also increased significantly over the past 15 years, particularly among young women and teenage girls.

Why and to what extent is care lacking?

Faced with this situation, the therapeutic response is not up to the level of the malaise. The mental health units of hospitals have been in crisis for years, undermined by a lack of resources and staff, due to budgetary restrictions. According to the French Hospital Federation, more than a quarter of positions are vacant in 40% of public psychiatric establishments, due in particular to a lack of attractiveness of these professions.

Furthermore, last year, 7% of psychiatric beds closed, while the number of patients is increasing. Patients are arriving in droves at emergency rooms: each year in the Île-de-France region, there are approximately 100,000 visits to emergency rooms for psychiatric problems. For the youngest, particularly minors, there are insufficient places in specialized establishments. And in community medicine, doctors must be found and the means to consult.

What has been the executive’s response so far?

But the main obstacle to consultation remains its price for half of young adults and for 40% of adults. Faced with this worrying situation, Emmanuel Macron has promised a “national council for the reestablishment of mental health”. But this could not be implemented due to the elections last June.

The hospitals, drained of blood, are demanding a 6% increase in their budget for the next Social Security financing bill. “There has been so much delay, so many savings made on mental health, that it is time to correct a little bit”judge Antoine Pelissolo, psychiatrist in Val-de-Marne and national secretary of the Socialist Party, Monday on franceinfo. “You can’t treat someone without staff to accompany them, without a place to live or a hospital”he adds.