More or less (I believed it was at the end of the second year, but it could be at the end of the first one). At least it seemed to be the case when I was a student. However, I’ve been told once since by a dentist that now, a number of students willingly choose to become dentists despite having high enough marks to become a physician because a dentist, on average, makes more money than a GP.
(The general principle is that, if your marks are high enough, you can choose between medecine and dentistry, people with the highest marks choosing first. Of course, if your marks aren’t high enough, you’re just out. There’s a numerus clausus on medical studies in France).
Yeah, and pretty idiotic in some cases. People with certain (usually quite minor) heart valve issues are supposed to take prophylactic antibiotics before getting their teeth cleaned, to prevent heart infections.
Years ago, when I had a stupid HMO that my mom lovingly referred to as Inhumana, I tried to fill an antibiotic prescription written by my dentist using my HMO prescription card. The pharmacist told me they couldn’t honor it because the prescription had been written by a dentist rather than an M.S. We’re talking about generic antibiotics which cost only a couple of bucks more than my $5 copay. I protested that the antibiotics were for a medical rather than a dental issue, to no avail. But the HMO was happy to have me waste half a day off work to sit in their waiting room and waste the time of their M.D. rewriting the exact same prescription. (No, I didn’t - I just ate the balance, but it’s the principle of the thing.)