Destination · FR
France
Entry summary
- Controlled (Rx)4
- Rx only52
- OTC / Rx5
- OTC18
- Unavailable3
Customs
Bringing your own medicine into France
France asks for your original prescription, and limits how much you bring.
Narcotics and psychotropics
Oxycodone, methylphenidate, alprazolam and similar. Officially, you must carry the medicine yourself and be able to show the original prescription. At the least, carry it in its original labeled container with your prescription.
- Bring only the amount your prescription covers. If it does not state a duration, the limit is about four weeks of treatment.
- A translation of the prescription into English or French helps.
- France does not require a permit of its own to enter.
Other medicines
You may bring up to a three-month supply without paperwork. For more, carry the original prescription, which can cover up to one year of treatment.
French customs: travelling with medicinesThe Clarityne brand was discontinued in France (marketing stopped 2020-2021) and is no longer in the government drug registry. Loratadine is still sold generically. Packs labeled “Conseil” are sold without a prescription; the other generics are prescription-only (liste II).
Zyrtecset 10 mg tablets are sold without a prescription; Zyrtec drops are prescription-only (liste II).
Sold for motion sickness, and the only diphenhydramine product on the French market. It is not sold as an allergy or sleep medicine; for sleep, pharmacies offer Donormyl (doxylamine).
Mopral 10 mg and 20 mg capsules are prescription-only (liste II); Mopralpro 20 mg is sold without a prescription.
ANSM made a prescription mandatory nationwide for all pseudoephedrine-based medicines effective 11 December 2024, citing documented stroke, heart attack, and death cases; the Actifed Rhume combination products have themselves been withdrawn from the market. The French medicines register currently lists no pseudoephedrine product as marketed.
Under 2 mg per dose it is sold without a prescription as a food supplement; 2 mg and above is a prescription medicine.
Sold in pharmacies without a prescription. Mercalm is dimenhydrinate with caffeine.
Adderall itself is not sold in France. Dexamfetamine (Tentin) is registered, with prescribing reserved to specialists.
Prozac is listed as not currently marketed in the French government drug registry (BDPM); generic fluoxetine remains available.
Wegovy may be harder to find here than in other countries.
No trazodone product is registered in France. A French doctor would prescribe a different medicine instead; bring enough for the trip and your prescription.
Josir, the other original brand, was discontinued. Omix is still sold, and generics are easy to find.
Hydrocodone is not sold in France or in most of Europe, so there is no direct Norco equivalent. Other codeine with paracetamol brands: Codoliprane, Klipal Codéine. Tramadol with paracetamol is sold as Ixprim or Zaldiar. France has no combined oxycodone and paracetamol product, so oxycodone (Oxynorm) is sold only on its own.
Unlike the US, UK, Canada, and Germany, fluticasone nasal spray has not been switched to OTC/pharmacy status in France and remains prescription-only; azelastine and levocabastine nasal sprays are the non-prescription options there instead.
The maker is withdrawing Levemir worldwide, so stock may be limited. Other long-acting insulins sold here: glargine (Lantus) and degludec (Tresiba).
The French government drug registry (BDPM) lists Cymbalta as not currently marketed, as in Canada and the UK. Generic duloxetine is available.
List II prescription drug in the government drug registry (BDPM). Doctors usually try a PPI first, but famotidine is registered and available. The Pepdine brand is no longer listed.
Prescription-only (liste I), and each prescription is limited to 12 weeks.
Prednisolone is also commonly used.
Flector gel is another diclofenac gel sold without a prescription.
Decongestant nasal sprays need a prescription in France.
No bismuth subsalicylate product is on the French market. Bring it from home, or ask the pharmacist for an alternative such as "Smecta" (diosmectite).
Rennie also contains magnesium carbonate.
No prescription needed. Often classed as a supplement or food rather than a medicine, so brands vary and it may be shelved away from the pharmacy counter.
Called "macrogol" outside the US.
Fucidine is fusidic acid and Mupiderm is mupirocin: different antibiotics for the same use. Antibiotic creams need a prescription in France. Without one, antiseptics such as Biseptine are sold.
Sold in pharmacies without a prescription.
Called "adrénaline" in France.