Angers Doctor Faces Charges of Racism and Violence Against Moroccan Patient

The case dates back to November 16, 2023. Fatima X, "who came to request the renewal of a prescription for her diabetic father blocked in Morocco, claims to have been the victim of verbal attacks with a racist character and physical violence from Dr. Patrice X in his office on Boulevard Pasteur in Angers," reports franceinfo. "You, the Arabs, the Maghrebians, you always want everything for free," the general practitioner allegedly told the plaintiff, according to the statements reported during the hearing. In the aftermath, he would have struck the plaintiff on the shoulder. The medical secretary would have intervened to separate the protagonists.

The lawyer for the Angevin doctor, "the only one present at the hearing, vigorously contested the version of the facts presented by the plaintiff." According to him, the situation would have degenerated due to a request contrary to medical legislation, the renewal of the prescription requiring an examination of the patient in the previous six months. The patient would have had an "incongruous" attitude. She would speak "loudly" and "not very easily," creating a tense atmosphere. The doctor’s counsel also contested the accusations of racist remarks. According to him, these are "uncharacterized" accusations.

"My client would like to finish his career without a negative element after forty-four years of career without a shadow of a difficulty," pleaded the lawyer. But the president of the disciplinary chamber recalled "the existence of a previous complaint," "even if this one had been settled in favor of the doctor." The practitioner will soon be informed of his fate.