Seaside welcome for French exiles

By Martha Buckley
BBC News

Think traditional British holiday camp and you think ice creams, crazy golf, evening discos and beer, all laid on for those seeking family fun at an affordable price.

Some 300 French surgeons went on a symbolic exile to Pontin's

About the last people you would expect to find are prosperous French private surgeons, more at home with gourmet dining and fine wines than go-kart racing and happy hour.

Yet, for four days this week, 300 French surgeons abandoned their clinics and installed themselves in symbolic exile at the Pontin's holiday camp at Camber Sands in East Sussex.

The exiles, who are forming a new trade union called Surgeons of France, were protesting at working conditions in France, the state of the health system and what they see as their betrayal by the French government.

A further 3,000 French surgeons showed their support by going on strike.

Meanwhile, Pontin's has provided a crash course in British culture, complete with traditional breakfasts in the cafeteria and meetings in the vast pub-style bar.

'Like a retreat'

Despite initial "surprise" at their surroundings, most deemed the visit a success, with the somewhat Spartan accommodation proving surprisingly conducive to work.

As they gathered in the camp's underwater-themed reception area, the surgeons were enthusiastic about what they had achieved.

Bruno Masson said the seaside resort was a good place to work

Bruno Masson, an orthopaedic surgeon from Caen, Normandy, said: "On the first day a lot of the surgeons were unhappy because it was raining and the restaurant wasn't good and the water in the rooms was cold.

"From my window I did not see the sea, there was a lot of wind and I was tired because I didn't have much sleep the night before.

"But after the first night it was different. Now everyone is happy and we had a good stay. It was a very good place to work, almost like a retreat - it has also been good for my weight because I didn't eat too much!"

Most praised the "nice" people they had met and the welcome they received.

Crazy golf

For their part, holiday camp staff - entering their busiest time of year - seemed to take the influx in their stride.

They made the group welcome, even changing their reception TV screens to give out information in French instead of English.

The traditional British seaside holiday is a "surprise" to the French

Most agreed the Frenchmen to be a "nice bunch" and "very well-behaved". "We just let them get on with it," one said.

The crazy golf course, go-kart track and amusement arcade went unused, as the surgeons concentrated instead on meetings and discussions.

Although holiday camp dining left them unimpressed, they appreciated a "very good breakfast" and had high praise for a Thai meal in nearby Rye.

Political change

"It seems that just as your National Health Service is growing up, so is the English gastronomy," said Michel Wilhelm, a digestive surgeon from the Loire area.

While some of their countrymen may mock the NHS, the surgeons think France may have something to learn from it.

France is a good place for holidays but not for surgeons Francois Boudinet Surgeon

"France is a beautiful country but it is politically stuck in the mud," he said.

"In Britain the government has had political courage. You have suffered with your health system because times were hard but now you are going forward and we are sinking."

A few braved the cold weather to visit Camber's windswept beach, compared by Francois Boudinet, a digestive and gynaecological surgeon from the Dordogne, to the equally chilly shores of Calais or Boulogne across the Channel.

New commuters?

He said: "I am from the south of France and there we have warm water and sunny weather." But, he added: "France is a good place for holidays but not for surgeons.

"I am very interested in coming to the UK to work, just going back to France for the weekends and holidays."

A chilly windswept beach at Camber reminds the group of Calais

While at Camber, the surgeons contacted NHS representatives, who provided information on working in Britain - a proposition several are seriously considering.

Some hope to settle in Britain, returning to France only to retire.

Others plan to follow in the footsteps of one orthopaedic surgeon who already commutes to the north of England for a week every couple of months, along with his French anaesthetist and complete surgical team.

As another orthopaedic specialist, Xavier Beauchamps, points out, the now twice-daily flights between his native Bergerac and the UK make this more possible than ever before.