For visitors

Getting a prescription in France as a visitor: the complete guide

You're travelling, something flares up, and you need medication — but you're not sure what French pharmacies will give you, or whether your prescription from home counts. This guide clears it up: what's over the counter, what needs a prescription, and the fastest way to get one in English.

A plain-English guide · French Doctor

How French pharmacies work

French pharmacies (look for the green cross) are excellent and pharmacists are highly trained — but France is stricter than many countries about what's sold freely. A lot of what you might buy off a supermarket shelf back home sits behind the counter here, and you have to ask the pharmacist for it.

There are three broad tiers:

• Front-of-shop / on request: mild painkillers (paracetamol, ibuprofen), rehydration salts, basic cold and allergy remedies, antiseptics. No prescription, but often dispensed by the pharmacist rather than self-served.
• Pharmacist's judgement: emergency contraception (the morning-after pill), some treatments the pharmacist can provide after a short chat.
• Prescription-only (sur ordonnance): antibiotics, the regular contraceptive pill, most chronic-condition medication, anything stronger. These require a doctor's prescription — no exceptions at the counter.

Can a tourist get antibiotics in France?

Yes — but only the right way. Antibiotics are prescription-only in France and are never sold over the counter, by design: it protects you and slows antibiotic resistance. So a tourist can absolutely get antibiotics, provided a licensed doctor assesses the case and judges them appropriate. After a consultation, if antibiotics are warranted (for example a confirmed urinary or chest infection), you receive a prescription and collect them at any pharmacy.

The contraceptive pill

The regular contraceptive pill normally requires a prescription in France. If you've run out while travelling or need a renewal, a doctor can issue one after a brief consultation. Emergency contraception (the morning-after pill) is different — it's available directly from any pharmacy without a prescription.

Is my foreign prescription valid here?

It depends where it's from:

• EU prescriptions can often be honoured under cross-border rules — but it's at the pharmacist's discretion, the medication must be clearly identifiable, and brand names differ between countries.
• Non-EU prescriptions (UK post-Brexit, US, etc.) are frequently not accepted.

If your prescription isn't honoured, you're stuck — unless you get a French one. The reliable route, especially for a renewal you know you need, is simply to have a French-licensed doctor re-issue it. That's exactly what an online consultation is for.

The fastest route to a valid prescription

For a clear, simple need — a renewal, a straightforward infection, contraception — the Express consultation (from €39, text-based, ~15 min) is the quickest path. You describe what you need in English, a French-licensed GP reviews it personally, and you receive a prescription PDF valid at any French pharmacy, usually within about 30 minutes — no appointment, no waiting room.

Private consultation with a French-licensed GP. Invoice provided for private insurance reimbursement.