The organization Règles Élémentaires sounds the alarm and calls on public authorities to act. Voted at the end of 2023, the measure intended to allow Health Insurance to reimburse reusable period products for young people under 26 and certain people in precarious situations has still not taken effect. The reason: the persistent absence of the implementing decree.
Free Access to Period Products: A Reform Still Stalled
On December 26, 2023, France adopted a measure long awaited within the Social Security Financing Law. Its objective was clear: to enable reimbursement by Health Insurance of reusable period products for young people under 26 and for certain people in precarious situations.
On paper, the scheme covered several everyday products: menstrual underwear, menstrual cups, and washable pads. But three years later, nothing has changed for the people concerned. The regulatory text necessary to implement the measure has never been published.
Without this decree, the Health Insurance system cannot initiate reimbursement. Result: a law passed, announced, hailed, but still not in effect.
For associations engaged in the fight against menstrual precarity, this delay becomes hard to understand. “Three years to the day, the State announced the reimbursement of reusable menstrual products for young people under 26 and the most precarious individuals,” recalls the Règles Élémentaires organization. “Despite repeated commitments by several successive governments, the measure remains unimplemented,” it laments again.
Menstrual Poverty: Millions of Women Still Affected
Behind this administrative delay hides a major social issue. In France, menstrual poverty would still affect about 4 million girls and women. The most exposed are students, young women, and people living in severe precarity.
Available data show that young adults are among the most vulnerable groups. According to parliamentary work, 40% of people aged 20 to 29 report having already had difficulty buying menstrual products.
For some, these difficulties translate into painful trade-offs. “Female students tell us they have to choose between buying pasta and buying menstrual products,” explains Gaëlle Baldassari, founder of the Kiffe ton Cycle movement.
Menstrual poverty is not limited to a financial constraint. It can also have health and social consequences. When the costs of protection are too high, some people extend their use or turn to improvised solutions, with potential risks to their health, comfort, and dignity.
Why Reusable Menstrual Products Are at the Heart of the Reform
The reform adopted in 2023 aimed to address both the social emergency and the environmental challenge by focusing on reusable menstrual products. Menstrual underwear, washable pads, and menstrual cups carry a higher upfront cost, but they can be used for several years.
In the long term, they therefore help reduce expenses tied to menstruation, while limiting the waste generated by disposable protections. It is precisely this double benefit — economic and ecological — that led to their inclusion in the reform.
The cumulative cost of menstrual products over a lifetime can represent a substantial amount. According to some estimates cited in parliamentary work, spending on menstrual products could range from €8,000 to €23,000 over a lifetime. Other, more cautious estimates still peg the budget at around €1,500 for disposable products alone.
In any case, the issue goes well beyond mere personal comfort: it touches purchasing power, public health, equality of access to essential products, and waste reduction.
Règles Élémentaires Publishes an Open Letter to Unblock the Situation
Facing the absence of a decree, advocacy groups decided to raise their voices. On March 4, 2026, the Règles Élémentaires association published an open letter addressed to the French Prime Minister and to the ministers responsible for Health and for Equality between Women and Men.
The objective is clear: to finally obtain the publication of the regulatory text indispensable for the measure to take effect. “Laws are only valuable if they are implemented,” reminded Frédéric Valletoux, chair of the Social Affairs Committee of the National Assembly.
While waiting for a national decision, local initiatives are trying to fill the gaps. Some local authorities, universities, and associations organize free distributions of menstrual products. The City of Paris, for example, has installed free dispensers in several public spaces to facilitate access for people in need.
But for the associations, these ad hoc actions cannot replace a structured public policy. Solidarity drives and local programs are useful, but insufficient in the face of the scale of the problem. For them, free access to period products is a matter of public health, social justice, and equality.
An Awaited Measure, a Missing Decree, an Ongoing Social Emergency
Three years after its adoption, the reform on reimbursing reusable menstrual products remains hinged on a single decree. In the meantime, millions continue to suffer the consequences of real menstrual poverty. Behind this administrative blockage lies the entire question of access to an essential product.
