As of this month, getting tested for the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in France no longer requires a prescription - and if you're under 26, it's entirely free. The changes come amid a worrying rise in gonorrhoea, syphilis and other diseases passed on through sex.
From 1 September, the French health service scrapped the need to show a prescription to get screened for chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhoea or hepatitis B.
Medical labs now offer these tests on a walk-in basis - something that was previously offered only at certain sexual health clinics, or for HIV.
"The aim is to reduce the number of missed opportunities, when some people don't get screened either because it can take time to see a doctor or because it's difficult to talk about sexual health with a medical professional," Maud Giacopelli, a public health specialist who oversees STI screening policy at France's General Directorate for Health, told RFI.
While most adults will still have to cover 60 percent of the cost, with France's national health insurance making up the rest, those aged 25 or less won't pay anything at all.
The reform, first announced in 2022, is part of broader efforts to prevent disease and improve sexual health - especially among young people, who experts say are most at risk of infection.
'Troubling surge' in STIs
Meanwhile gonorrhoea and syphilis cases increased at an even more alarming rate - by 91 percent and 110 percent. They remain rarer, however, with 44 and 21 infections per 100,000 people respectively.
Read more on RFI English
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