Côte-d'Or. "There will be layoffs": why most pharmacies are closing on August 16

"The closure on Saturday, August 16 is a necessity."

This is the appeal launched by the Union of Community Pharmacists' Unions (USPO), explaining that "the limited access to pharmacies from Thursday evening (August 14) to Monday morning (August 18) aims to illustrate to the general public and political decision-makers the impact that the disappearance of local pharmacies would represent."

According to the union, the threat comes from a decree modifying - downwards - the ceiling on discounts on generic drugs from laboratories, which had already provoked an initial mobilization at the beginning of July .

A measure involving "a significant loss of earnings" according to Pierre-Olivier Variot, pharmacist in Plombières-lès-Dijon and national president of the USPO.

"We estimate the loss at nearly 320 million euros, and there will inevitably be layoffs. Nearly 30% of pharmacies are currently facing difficult cash flow. Not all of them will close, but there will be closures," warns the Côte-d'Orien, while lamenting that this government decision was taken "by force and without protest."

According to the USPO representative, a large number of pharmacies are expected to close their doors this Saturday, August 16, in protest, ahead of further actions planned for the following month.

"This isn't a strike, just a closure. However, a one-day strike is planned for September 18, and then there will be other closures every Saturday," he said, calling for dialogue with the government, not only to "remove this article," but more generally to "review the way pharmacists are paid."