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France to make condoms free for young adults as Macron vows to tackle STD rise

Young people in France will be able to get condoms for free from next year in an effort to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), President Emmanuel Macron has announced.

«In pharmacies, condoms will be free for those aged 18 to 25 from January 1,» Macron told reporters on Thursday during an event about young people’s health.

“This is a small revolution in prevention,” he added.

Details of the plan are not yet known, nor do we have any estimate of its cost.

French health authorities estimate that the rate of STDs across the country increased by about 30 per cent in both 2020 and 2021.

Condoms prescribed by a doctor or a midwife are already reimbursed by French Social Security since December 2018, as part of efforts to fight against AIDS and STIs.

Condoms are also free for minors with a medical prescription or those who request them at a school infirmary.

But these schemes are still largely unknown: only 21 per cent of minors and 29 per cent of 18-24-year-olds are aware of them, according to the French president’s office.

Meanwhile, STIs such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea are on the rise among young people, particularly among men aged 15 to 29 – with a 45 per cent increase between 2017 and 2019, according to national data.

In 2021, the number of new HIV diagnoses has also stagnated at around 5,000.

Macron has previously set a goal of «zero new HIV infections» in France by 2030 and the elimination of STIs «as major public health problems».

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