Roumain travail en France are converging on France in a bid to find better-paying jobs in a country with more generous social services than Romania. The French, for their part, are increasingly aware of the need to provide a level playing field for all migrants who want to work there. The country’s economy depends on workers from eastern Europe, and it is a sign of its strength that its leaders are tackling the issue head-on, despite protests by some European rights groups.

France’s interior minister, Manuel Valls, is expected to announce that France will lift working restrictions on citizens of Bulgaria and Romania by the end of this year. Currently, Roma from the two new EU members can work only in certain jobs and only after getting a permit to do so. Moreover, employers have to pay a 713-euro tax for hiring them.

Before 2007, many Romanian physicians had come to France to complete their specialist training (they can be employed in hospitals here with the help of one of a number of diplomas sanctioning specialised medical training). For them, migrating to France was a way to fulfil their Hippocratic oath and to ensure a satisfactory standard of healthcare provision in Romania, whose healthcare system is not as well-developed as that of France.

Employment Trends: Where Romanian Workers Are Making an Impact in France

However, the majority of Romanian physicians interviewed say they do not plan to settle permanently in France. They express scant interest in building a house there because of the high cost of living, and most send money to their families back home on a monthly basis. They are generally convinced that they are doing the right thing and are fulfilling their Hippocratic oath by moving to France, where the standard of healthcare is much higher than in their own country.