BUCHAREST, Romania — A man in his early 20s named D.D. is a Romanian worker in France, making his living by working the ticket, snapshot, and candy machines at Paris’ Gare du Nord and other railway stations. He also ekes out a living as a Roma who plays the flute and sings for coins. He earns a lot more than the average French worker, which he says is about 6,000 euros a month.

As euworkers.fr hands out more work permits, the country’s growing reliance on foreign workers has far-reaching implications. Romania’s resident foreign-born population is one of the smallest in Europe, despite the brisk pace at which its citizens are entering work in other countries.

Legal Framework: Rights and Regulations for Romanian Workers in France

The most common profession for Romanian migrants in France is medicine. The presence of Romanian physicians is noticeable in hospitals and specialties that are experiencing particular recruitment difficulties: anaesthetics-intensive care (9,3% of those interviewed), radiology and medical imaging (7,7%), or hospitals specialised in psychiatry (10,4%).

Many doctors who make regular remittances to relatives back home cite socio-professional motivations: higher wages and better working conditions in France compared with those in Romania (157 out of 182 interviewed), the possibility of a permanent or extended stay (131 of the interviewees), the ownership of property in Romania (for holidays), or specific family situations that require long-distance solidarity, such as supporting elderly relatives or caring for children in school.

Posted workers from Eastern European nations like Poland and Romania pay into the social security systems of their home countries, allowing employers to hire them for less than in Western countries where welfare costs are higher. Macron wants to reform rules governing their employment, including requiring companies to pay posted and local workers the same and limiting postings to one year.