Thousands of angry French medics have staged a protest march across Paris against a new government bill which aims to change the country’s public healthcare system.

Doctors, dentists, physiotherapists, medical workers, students and hospital interns from around France on Sunday joined the medical profession's biggest protest march in over two decades to express their opposition to the controversial bill put forward by the health minister.

The protesters said the reforms should not be carried out in their current form because they not only put the future of medical professionals in the country at risk but will also ruin French healthcare system.

The protest came only two days after doctors went on strike in a bid to put pressure on the government to drop the controversial package.

Patients currently pay doctors their fees after which they get reimbursed by the state and insurance companies. The new reforms, however, will oblige doctors to bill the patients’ fees to insurance companies and the social security system.

Some of the doctors expressed apprehension about increased administrative paper work, saying they want to be able to treat patients and not to file papers. They also fear the proposed bill will cause payment delays and open the door to administrative meddling in medical affairs.

However, French Health Minister Marisol Touraine strongly backs the advance fee waiver plan which the government seeks to implement all over the country by 2017.

The bill is expected to be submitted for deliberation to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.

SF/KA/SS