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In Western countries, more than half of patients suffering from mental disorders are treated by primary care professionals without specialist psychiatric follow-up. General practitioners (GPs) therefore occupy a natural position as crucial front-line actors in the management of these problems. However, GPs currently face the same challenges as those posed by the concept of public mental health. Biopsychosocial care integrating somatic and psychological factors within a broad spectrum of health determinants, the importance of health promotion and prevention as a complement to curative care, a community-based approach, and a population-based vision are all key concepts shared by both fields. The large increase in needs, the lack of access to GPs, and care models that are still too often physician-centered make it difficult for GPs to respond to these challenges, often dealing with the most urgent issues, namely the predominant complaint. Solutions must be proposed to remove certain barriers that currently prevent them from carrying out these tasks properly. It is therefore necessary to implement a specific policy aimed at promoting training and ongoing practical support among providers. This also includes a policy of organizational transformation, both in terms of developing primary care teams that include professionals dedicated to mental health and, on a broader level, in terms of the healthcare system as a whole, to enable better collaboration between primary and secondary care.