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Hospitals in France: the essentials
- ✓For an emergency, dial 112 (English-speaking) or 15 (SAMU medical);
- ✓Public hospitals (CHU, CHR) are heavily subsidised — 80% covered by Sécurité Sociale for residents;
- ✓Private clinics with state agreement (conventionnée) work the same way; private without agreement charges market rates;
- ✓The American Hospital of Paris remains the main fully bilingual option; smaller English-language services exist in Lyon, Bordeaux and the Côte d'Azur.
Finding a hospital
A French hospital is called hôpital or centre hospitalier. The acronyms on signs and addresses tell you the type:
- →CHU — Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, university hospital with research and teaching, the largest type;
- →CHR — Centre Hospitalier Régional, regional hospital serving an area;
- →CHS — Centre Hospitalier Spécialisé, specialised hospital (often psychiatric);
- →CH — Centre Hospitalier, generic public hospital;
- →Clinique — private clinic, may or may not be state-contracted (conventionnée).
Search and book non-emergency appointments at most public hospitals through Doctolib, the dominant healthcare booking platform in France in 2026. For Paris specifically, the AP-HP network (Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris) lists every hospital and ER service in Île-de-France.
In an emergency
Don't try to find your nearest hospital — call:
112
15
18
114
There is no public ambulance service in France; SAMU dispatches a private ambulance or a SMUR resuscitation unit. The cost is fully covered for life-threatening calls. For the full list of emergency numbers, see our emergency numbers guide.
English-speaking hospitals and services
Truly bilingual hospitals are rare in France, concentrated in a few large cities. In a non-emergency setting, here are the main options:
Paris and Île-de-France
- →American Hospital of Paris (Neuilly-sur-Seine) — fully bilingual private hospital, US-style practices, all major specialities. Higher fees than public hospitals; some procedures are partially reimbursed by Sécurité Sociale;
- →Hôpital Foch (Suresnes) — private non-profit, has many English-speaking specialists;
- →Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou (HEGP, 15th) — large public hospital, several departments work in English with international patients;
- →Hôpital Saint-Joseph (14th) — private non-profit, English-speaking staff in many departments;
- →SOS Médecins Paris for English-speaking home GP visits — call 3624.
Note: the historic Hertford British Hospital (Hôpital Franco-Britannique) closed its acute services years ago — it now operates as the Institut Hospitalier Franco-Britannique for outpatient care only. Older guides still list it as a full hospital; that's no longer accurate.
Outside Paris
- →Lyon: Hôpital Edouard Herriot and Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse offer English-speaking international departments;
- →Bordeaux: CHU de Bordeaux runs an international patients service;
- →Côte d'Azur: Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace (Monaco) and CHU de Nice have multilingual staff catering to the international community;
- →Strasbourg: les Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, given the city's European institutions, have many bilingual departments.
For finding an English-speaking specialist anywhere in France, Doctolib has a language filter — search by speciality, then refine by "Anglais" in the language field.
Public vs private: what to choose
The French system has three categories you'll encounter:
| Type | Sécu reimbursement | Out-of-pocket cost | Wait times |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public hospital (CHU, CHR, CH) | 80% on hospital tariff | 20% + €20/day forfait | Variable, often long for non-urgent |
| Private clinic conventionnée | 80% on conventional tariff | 20% + supplements ("dépassements d'honoraires") | Usually shorter |
| Private non-conventionnée | Minimal (statutory base) | Mostly out-of-pocket | Shortest, premium service |
For emergencies, public hospitals and conventionned clinics are the safest financially — they always accept the Carte Vitale and most of the cost is reimbursed. Non-conventionned private clinics charge market rates; check before non-emergency procedures.
What happens when you arrive at the hospital
In an ER (service des urgences), the standard procedure:
- 1Check in at reception with your ID and Carte Vitale (or EHIC/GHIC if you're a visitor);
- 2Triage by a nurse (infirmier(ère) d'accueil et d'orientation) — they assess severity and prioritise;
- 3Wait — typical wait time for non-life-threatening cases is 2-6 hours, sometimes longer in busy urban ERs;
- 4Examination and treatment by an emergency doctor;
- 5Either discharge with a prescription (ordonnance) and follow-up instructions, or admission to a ward;
- 6At discharge, you receive a compte-rendu (medical summary) and any necessary feuille de soins.
If you don't speak French and the staff don't speak English well enough, ask for a traducteur or use a translation app — most hospitals are used to international patients in 2026 and have at least some translation tools available.
Documents to bring
Carte Vitale
Mutuelle card
ID card or passport
EHIC or GHIC
Regular medication
Costs and reimbursement
For French residents registered with the Sécurité Sociale, hospital costs are largely covered:
€20/day — Forfait journalier hospitalier
€19.61 — Forfait patient urgences
- ✓Hospital fees: 80% reimbursed by Sécu (100% for serious chronic conditions ALD or pregnancy);
- ✓Forfait journalier hospitalier: a flat €20/day charge for room and meals during a hospital stay (€15/day in psychiatric units) — paid by the patient or covered by mutuelle;
- ✓Forfait patient urgences: a flat €19.61 charge for any ER visit not followed by admission (introduced in 2022 to discourage non-urgent ER use) — covered by mutuelle;
- ✓Surgical and specialist fees: covered at 80% if billed at standard rate, lower if the doctor practises dépassement d'honoraires (above-tariff fees).
A mutuelle top-up insurance covers the remaining 20%, the daily forfait, the ER fee and most dépassements. Without a mutuelle, expect significant out-of-pocket costs even in public hospitals.
If you don't have French health coverage
You'll be treated regardless — no French hospital refuses emergency care for lack of insurance. But you'll be billed afterwards. Options:
- →EHIC or GHIC: covers EU/UK visitors at the same rate as residents;
- →C2S (Complémentaire Santé Solidaire) for low-income French residents — replaced CMU-C and ACS in 2019;
- →AME (Aide Médicale d'État) for undocumented residents who have lived in France for 3+ months;
- →Travel insurance for short-stay visitors;
- →If none of the above, you pay the full bill yourself and may seek partial reimbursement from your home country if a bilateral agreement exists.
Follow-up and prescriptions
When you leave the hospital, you'll typically have:
- →A compte-rendu d'hospitalisation — medical summary to give to your GP;
- →One or more ordonnances (prescriptions) for medication;
- →An arrêt de travail if you need sick leave;
- →A scheduled follow-up appointment with a specialist or your GP;
- →A feuille de soins for any costs you've paid upfront, to send to Ameli for reimbursement.
If you've registered a médecin traitant (designated GP) on Ameli, share the compte-rendu with them — that's how the French system tracks continuity of care. Without a registered GP, you lose the 70% reimbursement rate on subsequent specialist visits.