French President Emmanuel Macron says condoms will be free for people under 25

PARIS (AP) – France will offer free condoms in pharmacies for everyone up to the age of 25 in the new year, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday.

The move comes as the government says STDs are on the rise among young people and as this year’s extraordinary inflation is hitting the budgets of France’s poorest particularly hard.

Girls and women under the age of 25 can already get free birth control in France as part of the government’s effort to ensure young people of all incomes can prevent unwanted pregnancies. However, existing measures do not apply to men or specifically address access for transgender or non-binary people.

Macron had said Thursday that condoms would be free in pharmacies for everyone between the ages of 18 and 25 from January 1. But after a French TV presenter and others challenged him on social media on Friday about why the condom measure doesn’t include minors, the president agreed to an expansion of the program.

“Let’s do it,” Macron said in a selfie video he took on the sidelines of a summit in Spain. He later tweeted, “A lot of minors are having sex too…they need to protect themselves too.”

Macron, who became France’s youngest-ever president at the age of 39 when he was first elected in 2017, also pledged increased efforts to prevent and screen for HIV and other sexually transmitted viruses.

France’s national healthcare system covers some birth control costs, but not all, and doctor’s appointments for low-income patients often require long waits. Abortions in France are free for everyone.

Several other European countries offer free or subsidized contraception.