ramone21.

[scarlet fossil]

Please be patient

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[hot bear]

here, "traiter" doesn't mean "to treat" but rather "to handle"
because we're talking about a general truth, present tense is used

[knotty zodiac]

This isn't passé composé, this would be the infinitive form of the passive voice, since devoir is the main verb of the clause

If you look at a simpler construction, it's a bit more clear:

La santé mentale est traitée avec autant de sérieux que la santé physique -> Mental health is handled as seriously as physical health

(treated can also be used here in english, btw)

[small cairn]

@hot bear ok i think i get what you are saying given the context its not actually talking about a past action its a current situation

@citrons not familiar with the passive voice will probably have to do some research on it

@knotty zodiac Not familiar with the passive voice will probably have to do some research on it

[hot bear]

it's not a current situation either
it's a general truth, it applies regardless of context, just like "water is wet". It's not necessarily right now, we're just stating how things are

[small cairn]

Ok so for general statements the present tense is used

[knotty zodiac]

I can totally understand why this would look like a past tense construction if you aren't familiar with the passive voice yet though

[hot bear]

it is

[small cairn]

@knotty zodiac And the way traiter is conjugated with the extra e "traitée " confused me since i know that once être is used for passé composer the verb must agree with the subject.

[full lintel]

There are parallels in english.
"he has eaten": constructed like passé composé
"he is eaten": passive

in either case you use the past participle, 'eaten'

it's kind of like "mental health must have treated" vs "mental health must be treated"

[knotty zodiac]

That's just a thing that has to happen when être is used with a past participle (there are exceptions, of course, it's french)

[full lintel]

i think 'treated with' is a fine translation here, treat is a synonym of handle in this case

[hot bear]

Here "traitée" is an attribute, you're qualifying how something is. Past participles act very similarly to adjectives, agreement doesn't mean passé composé composé is used.

[worldly flume]

Past participles are adjectives. They’re adjectival forms of verbs. That’s why they agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify in French, just like all adjectives.

[small cairn]

@full lintel ok i think i understand that

@hot bear yes that makes a lot of sense

Thank you all i will go and find some literature for passive voice to make sure i understand and can spot it in the future