[Public health: a true concern in the French political scene]

A recent report of the Senate revealed the difficulties of elaborating an effective cancer policy in France. Senators particularly pointed to the necessity of establishing cancer care priorities and to the tremendous need for medical coordination. This paper will develop the annual state debate on social security funding. The authors will show that health policy is entirely dependent on health economics. We believe that health priorities and health outcomes should be defined before any financial decision is made, this preliminary debate being an essential contribution to evidence-based policy-making in public health.