The Christian Science Monitor

France fights flight to big cities with funds for smaller towns

The main road through this charming Breton town separates stone cottages from a pale green marsh that leads to the sea. But in Cherrueix, neither the beach nor the picturesque farmland have been enough to attract fresh faces to live here.

After François Goblé retired this March, the town and surrounding area of 5,000 inhabitants were left with one primary care physician. “I was working from eight in the morning until 11 at night,” says Dr. Goblé. “After 45 years as a doctor, it was impossible to continue in this way.”

Cherrueix is just one example of a “medical desert” – where the number of doctors is 30 percent lower than

Enhancing the core Creating new balance 

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