French Public Health Code
In forceThe following are practising medicine illegally
1° Any person who habitually takes part, even in the presence of a doctor, in the diagnosis or treatment of diseases, congenital or acquired, real or supposed, by personal acts, verbal or written consultations or by any other means whatsoever, or performs one of the professional acts provided for in a nomenclature laid down by order of the Minister for Health, made after consulting the National Academy of Medicine, without holding a diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualifications mentioned in article L. 4131-1 and required to practise as a doctor, or without benefiting from the special provisions mentioned in articles L. 4111-2 to L. 4111-4, L. 4111-7, L. 4112-6, L. 4131-2 to L. 4131-5 ;
2° Any person who engages in the activities defined in 1° above without complying with the condition set out in 2° of article L. 4111-1 , taking into account, where applicable, the exceptions to this condition set out in this book and in particular articles L. 4111-7 and L. 4131-4-1 ;
3° Any person who, in possession of a lawful title, exceeds the powers conferred on him by law, in particular by assisting the persons mentioned in 1° and 2°, with a view to evading the provisions of this Title;
4° Any person holding a diploma, certificate or any other evidence of formal qualifications as a doctor who practises medicine without being registered on a roll of the Ordre des Médecins set up in accordance with Chapter II of Title I of this Book or during the period of the temporary ban provided for in article L. 4124-6 , with the exception of the persons mentioned in articles L. 4112-6 and L. 4112-7 ;
5° Any doctor referred to in article L. 4112-7 who performs professional acts without fulfilling the conditions or complying with the obligations provided for in said article.
The provisions of this article do not apply to medical students, midwives or pharmacist-biologists for the performance of medical biology procedures or for cervico-vaginal samples taken as part of cervical cancer screening, nor to pharmacists or nurses who prescribe vaccines or carry out vaccinations, nor to genetic counsellors who prescribe medical biology examinations in application of article L. 1132-1, or medical physicists, or nurses or patient minders who act as assistants to a doctor or whom the latter places with his patients, or holders of a professional qualification appearing on a list drawn up by order of the Minister responsible for health and carrying out, within the limits of their training, the activity of medical assistant, or medical auxiliaries carrying out advanced practice in application of article L. 4301-1, nor to persons who perform, under the conditions laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat issued after consultation with the Académie nationale de médecine, the professional acts listed in the same decree.
