Introduction to the special issue

Liberty, equality, crisis—the paradoxes of the French health system

Bibliographic Data

ID19224966
AuthorsÉlisa Chelle (0000-0002-2368-8421, Université Paris Nanterre), Isabel M Perera (0000-0002-6061-1116, Cornell University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-06-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrench Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1476-3427 • E-ISSN: 1476-3419
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1057/s41253-026-00335-5
OpenAlexW7164852816
LanguageEN
References cited34

This special issue examines the paradoxes of the French health system. Contributions from francophone and anglophone scholars on both sides of the Atlantic explore these tensions through diverse analytic lenses. In this introduction, we highlight three major throughlines: that universal coverage co-exists with persistent inequalities, that the postwar elite consensus faces increasing contestation, and that the state's centralization is in fact mediated by frontline actors. Together, these contributions show that the recurring themes of French health care--liberty, equality, and crisis--are not mutually exclusive but mutually constitutive. Their frictions generate the system's distinctive and enduring paradoxes

Comparative politics · Elite · French · Global health · Public health · Healthcare Systems and Practices · Migration, Identity, and Health · Social Sciences and Governance

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