Paris

France / Île-de-France / Paris

OVERVIEW

In Paris, you will find a wealth of health care resources. Contraception (birth control) is widely accessible in France. While you do need a prescription to obtain hormonal birth control, and some pharmacies will reject foreign prescriptions, you'll generally find little issue with attaining a prescription or contraceptives. Emergency contraception (the morning after pill) is available at pharmacies with no prescription required. There are no age restrictions. Abortion is legal in France for up to 12 weeks after conception. See below for more details.

Contraception

General Note: There are many types of contraceptives, also known as "birth control," including IUDs, oral contraceptives, patches, shots, and condoms, etc. If you would like to view a full list, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In France, you need a prescription to obtain hormonal birth control. According to some accounts, French pharmacies accept foreign prescriptions. Other accounts have stated that French pharmacies do not accept foreign prescriptions, so this ultimately seems to be a case-by-case basis. If you speak some French, this may increase your chances of successfully using a foreign prescription. Meanwhile, condoms are widely available and commonly used; it's estimated that France has the third most prevalent condom use of all countries in the world.

Here is a personal testimonial about getting birth control in France.

What to Get & Where to Get It

If you don't yet have a prescription, it can be easily obtained by visiting an ob/gyn. If you have a foreign prescription, you should bring your prescription and an empty packet, if possible, to a pharmacist for refill. You can say, “Pourriez-vous me dépanner avant que j’obtienne une nouvelle ordonnance?” They may sell you a 1-3 month supply, especially if you promise to go to a doctor soon.

Costs

Without French insurance (Sécu), most brands of the pill will cost 15 euro for a month's supply. If you have Sécu, some pill brands are partially covered, along with Depo-Provera and diaphragms. The patch, rings (like Nuvaring), spermicide and cervical caps are not covered by Sécu, so you'll need to pay 100%.

Emergency Contraception

Important Notes: Emergency contraception may prevent pregnancy for three days (72 hours) and sometimes five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. Take EC as soon as possible after unprotected sex. If you don't have access to dedicated EC, oral contraceptives can be used as replacement EC, but remember the following: 1) Only some contraceptives work as EC 2) Different contraceptives require different dosages and time schedules to work as EC 3) You must only use the first 21 pills in 28-day packs and 4) They may be less effective than dedicated EC. For general information on emergency contraceptives, click here and here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In France, you can obtain emergency contraception (the morning after pill) without a prescription. There are no age restrictions.

What to Get & Where to Get It

Note: The longest-lasting EC is currently ellaOne. It lasts up to 5 days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. Check to see if your country carries ellaOne. If your country doesn't carry ellaOne, copper IUDs may also prevent pregnancy up to 5 days after unprotected sex. If none of these options are available, and it's been over 3 days since you had unprotected sex, you can still take EC, which may work up to 5 days. Note that EC pills are not 100% effective and should be taken as soon as possible.

You can obtain EC in pharmacies and family planning centers. There are also some French websites where you can buy EC online.

Credit to Princeton EC Website for below information...

Dedicated Products / Anti-Progestin Take 1 pill within 120 hours after unprotected sex:

• ellaOne

Dedicated Products / Progestin Only Take 1 pill within 120 hours after unprotected sex:

• Levonorgestrel Biogaran 1500 (available from a pharmacist without a prescription)
• NorLevo 1.5mg (available from a pharmacist without a prescription)

Take 2 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex:

• Anthia (available from a pharmacist without a prescription)

If you can't access emergency contraception, you can use oral contraceptives as EC, which include the following:

Oral Contraceptives used for EC / Progestin Only Take 50 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex:

• Microval

Oral Contraceptives used for EC / Progestin-Estrogen Combined Note: in 28-day packs, only the first 21 pills can be used Take 2 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 2 more pills 12 hours later:

• Ovral

Take 4 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 4 more pills 12 hours later:

• Minidril
• Nordette

Costs

LNG: € 6,75 (as of 2013); UPA: € 18,88 (as of 2015). If you have a prescription, 65% of EC costs are reimbursed. You can typically get EC for free at family planning clinics or if you're under 18.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs/STDs)

Important Notes - Learn about PEP and PrEP: If you think that you've been recently exposed to HIV (i.e. within 72 hours), seek out PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a month-long treatment to prevent HIV infection after exposure, and it may be available in your city. Take PEP as soon as possible. For more information, click here. If you are at risk of HIV exposure, seek out PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a daily oral pill that can prevent HIV infection before exposure. To learn more about PrEP, click here.

What to Get & Where to Get It

In Paris, there appears to be very little social stigma attached to STI testing. It is seen as a normal and healthy choice made by responsible adults.

Testing Facilities

• "There are a number of centre de dépistage and they are all anonymous. They are also all TOTALLY FREE OF CHARGE and no carte vitale is needed. I would recommend using a Red Cross centre as they have one located right in the middle of Paris (metro: Palais Royale Musee du Louvre) and most of the people working there speak English. Not being able to speak French is NOT a problem. If you don’t speak French, they can, and will, happily ask you the questions in English. After choosing your centre you can either call them to make an appointment (they will only ask you for your surname) or you can decide to go sans RDV (without an appointment). However, sans RDV is only available on Wednesday’s between 3 pm and 6 pm and as you don’t have an appointment you will have to wait…possibly for a long time. If you decide to book an appointment you will be seen very quickly, therefore I would definitely recommend booking before. Also, you generally have to book around two weeks in advance so be prepared for a small wait!" -- Read more on this blog post about getting tested in paris
• Figuier HIV Testing Centre: 2, rue du Figuier — métro : Saint Paul, from Monday to Friday, from 1:30 pm to 6:30 pm; by appointment at other times
• MGEN Centre de Santé: 178 rue Vaugirard, 75015 Paris, France, 15ème, 08 20 01 28 28
• Clinique du Mont-Louis: 11ème, Père Lachaise, 8-10 rue de la Folie Regnault, 75011 Paris, France, Phone number 08 26 30 56 56
• La Maison du Don: Saint-Georges, 9ème, 55 rue de Châteaudun, 75009 Paris, France, Phone number 01 55 31 60 60

Menstruation

Note: In addition to pads and tampons, you can also use menstrual cups and menstrual underwear for your period. To learn more about menstrual cups, click here. To learn more about menstrual underwear, click here.

What to Get & Where to Get It

You can buy pads, tampons and menstrual cups in France. For pads and tampons, you'll find them in grocery stores, chain store markets and in some pharmacies. Note that it's much more common to see tampons without applicators, like OB, than tampons with applicators. If you do find tampons with applicators, there will be a good chance that they are cardboard applicators. You can find 100% cotton tampons in health food stores, but they're more expensive. If you're looking for menstrual cups, you can buy DivaCups at Boutique Bio, [www.raniania.fr Raniana] or Vivre-Mieux.com. For LadyCups, check out LadyTeen, LadyCup.fr, and CTOOBIO. For Lunette, check out Lunacopine.

Abortion

Important Note: There are two main types of abortions: medical (also known as the "abortion pill") and surgical (also known as "in-clinic"). For medical abortions, you take a pill to induce abortion. For surgical abortions, a procedure is performed to induce abortion. For general information about medical and surgical abortions, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In France, abortion is legal for up to 12 weeks after conception. It is available on demand.