Sunday, January 9, 2022 People waited for COVID-19 tests in front of a pharmacy in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
Foreign media ABC reported on December 10 that French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday that France will provide free condoms to anyone under the age of 25 in the new year in the drugstore.
This move comes as the government says sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise among young people, and this year's abnormal inflation is severely slashing the budget of France's poorest people.
In France, girls and women aged 25 and under have access to birth control for free, which is part of the government's efforts to ensure that all income young people can prevent unwanted pregnancy. However, existing measures do not apply to men, nor to access issues for transgender or nonbinary people.
Macron said Thursday that from January 1, anyone aged 18-25 will be able to get condoms for free. But the president agreed to expand the plan after a French TV host and others questioned on social networks on Friday why condom measures did not include minors.
"Let's do that," Macron said in a selfie video, shooting it between the Spanish summit. He later wrote on Twitter: "Many minors also have sex... They also need to protect themselves."
Macron was the youngest president of France ever when he was first elected in 2017, when he was 39 years old, and he also promised to step up efforts to prevent and detect HIV and other sexually transmitted viruses.
France's national health care system covers some birth control costs, but not all, and doctor appointments for low-income patients usually take a long wait. Abortion in France is free for everyone.
Several other European countries offer free or subsidized contraceptives.
