French caregivers battling Covid-19 are appallingly underequipped and overloaded with fresh cases, a local nurse said, explaining a recent action which saw medics posing naked to show their vulnerability to the deadly contagion.

The unorthodox demonstration kicked off earlier this week, with dozens of nurses undressing in a silent protest against the government “sending us naked to face this pandemic," as Melina Dufraigne-Laflechelle, one of the nurses behind the flashmob, put it on RT France.

Using the hashtag #apoilcontrelecovid (naked against the Covid), the silent protest featured medics of all ages posing with small signs concealing their private parts.

Warning: Explicit images

“As you all know, to be able to treat patients with dignity and not take risks for ourselves and our patients, we need a set of equipment which we don't have,” said Dufraigne-Laflechelle.

Old-fashioned masks are the only protective gear local medical staff have received from the government, she claimed.

France, where the virus has claimed over 6,500 lives, seems underprepared for containing Covid-19.

“The government doesn't hear us; we aren't heard, neither are hospitals,” Dufraigne-Laflechelle said, lamenting that “the healthcare sector has been in bad shape for 15-20 years.”

This state of affairs takes a heavy toll on daily operations, according to the nurse. Both patients and their families are forced to learn that “the world's fifth or sixth most powerful country doesn't have enough intensive care capacity.”

We have to make choices, you know that and it's being said; it's a reality, there are choices being made in the people we treat and that we will treat.

On Friday, France recorded 588 fatalities in just 24 hours, marking the worst one-day death toll from Covid-19 in the country since the start of the outbreak. Director General of Health Jerome Salomon described the situation as "totally unprecedented in the history of French medicine.”

Also on rt.com US bought France-bound face masks for CASH from China – French official to RT

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!

to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media won’t tell you.