Avellon Williams
FRANCE- To reduce unwanted pregnancies among young people, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that pharmacies would provide condoms for free.
“It’s a small revolution for contraception,” Macron said during a health debate with young people in Fontaine-le-Comte, a suburb of Poitiers in western France.
The move follows the government’s decision to offer free birth control to all women under 25 this year, expanding a scheme aimed at under-18s in order to reduce the number of women who stop taking contraception because of financial difficulties.
“It’s a small revolution for contraception,” Macron said during a health debate with young people in Fontaine-le-Comte, a suburb of Poitiers in western France.
The move follows the government’s decision to offer free birth control to all women under 25 this year, expanding a scheme aimed at under-18s in order to reduce the number of women who stop taking contraception because of financial difficulties.
To combat AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, the national healthcare system already reimburses condoms if prescribed by a doctor or midwife.
As far as sex education is concerned, “we are not very good on this subject. The reality is very, very different from the theory. It’s an area where we need to better educate our teachers”, Macron said.
As the government weighs its response to a rise in COVID cases ahead of the holidays, Macron wore a face mask during the conference. However, no mask mandate has yet been reintroduced.
“Faced with the new spread of the epidemic… I think it’s good to set an example because we don’t necessarily want to return to overall mandates,” he said.
As winter approaches, officials are urging people to wear masks in crowded places and to get COVID vaccine booster shots.
