France will make condoms free in pharmacies for anyone up to 25 years of age in the new year, President Emmanuel Macron says.
For Young people, France to make Condoms free at pharmacies from January, in a bid to minimize the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
In 2020 and 2021 France experienced a 30% national increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) rates.
The new measure comes alongside other health initiatives targeting the spread of STIs and improving access to contraception.
Girls and women of 25 and under already can get free birth control in France as part of government efforts to ensure that young people of all incomes can prevent unwanted pregnancy.
In 2018 the French government started reimbursing the costs of condoms to individuals, if purchased in a pharmacy with a prescription from a doctor or midwife.
But after a French TV presenter and others challenged him on social networks over why the condom measure did not include minors, the president agreed to expand the program.
“Let’s do it,” Mr Macron said in a selfie video that he shot from the sidelines of a summit in Spain.
He later tweeted: “A lot of minors also have sex … they need to protect themselves too.”
Emmanuel Macron
