An ideal: the solidarity that obliges us to help those who are excluded or forgotten. A job that is also a vocation: to help those that suffer, and women in particular. Requiring depth of understanding, tolerance, and a skill for listening to others, this vocation is both a way of life and a political action. Michèle Barzach reveals the details of her experience.

Michèle Barzach, a gynecologist, was the Minister of Health and Family from 1986 to 1988.