From January next year, young people in France will have free access to condoms in an effort to stop the spread of STDs (STIs).
At a Thursday event for young people’s health, the French president made the new health initiative official.
Young people would be able to pick them up from pharmacies, according to Emmanuel Macron, who called the initiative a “small revolution in contraception.”
The national STI rate in France increased by 30% in 2020 and 2021.
The new measure comes alongside other health initiatives targeting the spread of STIs and improving access to contraception.
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.
Earlier this year the government made contraception free for all women up to 26 years old – a move that affected three million women. Contraception had previously been free for women and girls 18 or younger.
Mr Macron added in a tweet that Thursday’s announcement comes alongside other health measures. They include free emergency contraception for all women in pharmacies, and free STI screenings without a prescription, except HIV, to those under the age of 26.