Key takeaways

  • 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 (European emergency, English-speaking by default) ;
  • 15 (SAMU, medical emergencies — operators are bilingual in major cities and France-wide for severe calls) ;
  • 18 (pompiers, fire brigade — also handle medical emergencies, road accidents, heart attacks) ;
  • 114 (SMS or fax-based emergency line for the deaf, hard-of-hearing or speechless).

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:

Public hospitals vs private conventionnées vs private non-conventionnées
Type Sécu reimbursement Out-of-pocket cost Wait times
Public hospital (CHU, CHR, CH)80% on hospital tariff20% + €20/day forfaitVariable, often long for non-urgent
Private clinic conventionnée80% on conventional tariff20% + supplements ("dépassements d'honoraires")Usually shorter
Private non-conventionnéeMinimal (statutory base)Mostly out-of-pocketShortest, 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:

  1. Check in at reception with your ID and Carte Vitale (or EHIC/GHIC if you're a visitor) ;
  2. Triage by a nurse (infirmier(ère) d'accueil et d'orientation) — they assess severity and prioritise ;
  3. Wait — typical wait time for non-life-threatening cases is 2-6 hours, sometimes longer in busy urban ERs ;
  4. Examination and treatment by an emergency doctor ;
  5. Either discharge with a prescription (ordonnance) and follow-up instructions, or admission to a ward ;
  6. At 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

  • Your Carte Vitale (or its app version on your phone) ;
  • Your mutuelle attestation card ;
  • An ID card or passport ;
  • Visitors: EHIC or GHIC + travel insurance ;
  • Any regular medication you're taking, with the prescription if possible.

Costs and reimbursement

For French residents registered with the Sécurité Sociale, hospital costs are largely covered:

  • 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.