France is highly progressive with PrEP access. It is completely free, and unlike countries that restrict it to hospital pharmacies, France allows you to pick up PrEP at any standard street pharmacy.
🛤️ How to Get It
You have two distinct routes to get a PrEP prescription (ordonnance).
Route 1: The CeGIDD (Free, No Insurance Needed)
You can go to any CeGIDD. You will see a doctor, get your blood drawn, and receive a prescription.
- Cost: Completely free.
- Wait: Can take weeks to secure an appointment in major cities.
Route 2: The General Practitioner (Fast, Insurance Needed)
Any general practitioner (médecin généraliste) in France is legally allowed to prescribe your initial PrEP regimen.
- You book an appointment on Doctolib (the national medical booking app).
- The doctor writes you a lab requisition (ordonnance pour prise de sang).
- You go to a local private lab for the blood draw.
- You return to the GP for the prescription.
The Doctolib Hack: When searching for a GP on Doctolib, you can often search for the keyword "PrEP" or look for doctors specializing in Infectiologie to find a gay-friendly practitioner who won't ask naive questions.
💊 Dispensing & Cost
Once you have the prescription (ordonnance), you can walk into any standard green-cross pharmacy (pharmacie) to pick it up.
| Status | What You Pay at the Pharmacy |
|---|---|
| Resident with Carte Vitale + Mutuelle | €0. The pharmacy bills the state and your insurance directly (Tiers Payant). |
| No Mutuelle (State Insurance Only) | The state covers 100% of PrEP costs (classified as ALD/Preventative in many cases), but you may have minor out-of-pocket costs for the doctor's visit depending on their sector. |
| Tourist / No Insurance | You pay full price out of pocket at the pharmacy (typically €20–€40 for a month of generic PrEP). |
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