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HEALTH

Reader question: Can foreigners in France get the Covid-19 vaccine?

As France rolls out its Covid-19 vaccination campaign, here's what non-French people need to know about getting the injection.

Published: 15 January 2021 15:46 CET
Reader question: Can foreigners in France get the Covid-19 vaccine?
A doctor administers a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Lille, northern France. Photo: AFP

Question: I am a non-French resident in France and I don’t yet have a carte vitale health insurance card. Is the Covid vaccine restricted to French citizens or can I still get vaccinated, and how much will it cost me?

What rights non-French residents in France have when it comes to getting vaccinated for Covid-19 has been a big question among the readers of The Local.

Firstly, there is no limit based on citizenship.

We contacted the French health ministry, who told us: “Everyone residing in France will be invited to get vaccinated according to the prioritisation of groups as outlined in the vaccination campaign.”

France has chosen a strict step-by-step vaccination scheme, placing vulnerable groups first in line to get the injection (more below).
 
What will it cost?

The vaccine will be free to everyone, even those who don’t have a carte vitale.

“Seeing as this is a public health issue, unregistered people as well as those in precarious situations [such as the homeless] can get vaccinated for free,” the health ministry said, referring to a government decree published on December 31st.

Everyone working or residing in France can get the vaccine for free, even if they aren’t registered in the French state health system.

This does not include tourists or second home owners.

What kind of documents should I bring?

There is no mention of whether or not the vaccine centres will demand a proof or residency or other documents. However we would advise non-EU residents to bring either a carte de séjour, the receipt acknowledging their application for a carte de séjour or utility bills.

EU citizens would to wise to bring their passports and a proof of address. 
 
Everyone – French or not – needs to take ID with them when they go to the vaccine centre.
 
Several readers of The Local have told us that not having a carte vitale caused a certain amount of confusion at the their local vaccine centre, because it is an unusual situation, but all of them received it in the end, one person after showing the French government decree linked to in this article.
 
When can I get it?
 
At present, the vaccination scheme is only open to over 75s and people in high risk group with serious health conditions, in addition to some priority groups – residents and staff in Ehpad nursing homes, health workers and emergency workers aged over 50.
 
Next on the priority list are 65-74 year-olds. They should be given access to the vaccine sometime in February, although the government has not yet set a date.

After that there is a strict order based on priority groups, with vaccines for the general population set to be rolled out out in the spring.

Over-75s and those in high risk groups may however already now book an appointment online, through the medical app Doctolib or call the government’s vaccine hotline.
 
 
 
 

Member comments

  1. A decree and a statement from the ministry is fine but I’m aware that the vaccination centre computer systems cannot accept people without a social security number, thus excluding those not in the health system. I hope this is a teething issue that is soon resolved.

  2. I just received the shot and I don’t have a carte vitale. I translated your article into French and handed it to the person checking me in and they took it. You do have to have an appointment or go to a pharmacy. Thanks to you, I have my first shot.

  3. If you are already registered with a generaliste/GP, I suggest ringing them to make an appointment. I got my RDV for 2 days later. Had my AZ vaccination without any problems. I’m still waiting on a Carte Vitale, so he couldn’t provide an official document to confirm I’d had my first shot ( a CV/Secu number is required), but hope to have this for my second vaccination in June.

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SCHOOLS

Are packed lunches really banned in French schools?

School children in France are entitled to a lunchtime meal of three, or even four courses – but what if you prefer to provide meals yourself? 

Published: 22 May 2024 12:24 CEST
Are packed lunches really banned in French schools?

French school meals are, famously, pretty good – children get a three or even four-course meal of properly prepared dishes and the menu (including cheese course) is usually published in the local town newsletter so everyone can see the types of meals being served.

The concept of a proper meal at lunchtime is an important one. “The diet of a school-age child is essential for their growth, mental development and learning abilities,” the French Education Ministry says in a preamble about school meals on its website. “It must be balanced, varied and distributed throughout the day: for example 20 percent of total energy in the morning, 40 percent at midday, 10 percent at four o’clock and 30 percent in the evening.”

And it’s not all about nutrition, the social aspect of sitting together and eating a meal is also important – the ministry continues: “Mealtime is an opportunity for students to relax and communicate. It should also be a time for discovery and enjoyment.”

All schools provide meals in a canteen and most pupils take up the opportunity – however it’s also possible for pupils to go home at lunchtime so that they can eat lunch with their parents.

The idea of taking in a packed lunch (panier-repas) is much less common in France – but is it actually banned?

The rules on lunch

At écoles (up to age 11), the local authority or établissement public de coopération intercommunale (EPCI) is responsible for providing quality school meals. This generally involves meals being provided via a central kitchen, and then delivered to the school’s kitchen, where it can be kept warm, or reheated as necessary.

The system is slightly different in collèges and lycées (attended by children aged 11 and up). In those establishments, catering falls into the purview of the wider département or region – and is routinely managed directly by individual establishments, which will have catering staff on site to prepare meals. Often, meal services are outsourced to private businesses, which operate the kitchens.

There are various rules and regulations in place regarding what food is offered, and how long a child has to eat – which is, in part, why the school lunch period is so long. Children must be allowed a 30-minute period to eat their meal, from the moment they sit down with it at the table. 

Then, they’re given time to play and relax before afternoon classes start.

READ ALSO What you need to know if your child is starting school in France

At a minimum lunch must include a main course with a side dish, a dairy-based product, as well as a starter and/or a dessert. Meals must also, the government says, be composed of 50 percent sustainable quality products (including 20 percent organic).

Some local authorities go further and serve only or mostly food that is organic, locally sourced or both.

Water and bread must be freely available, but salt and condiments can only be added in preparation – no sauce bottles or salt and pepper on the tables. 

Daily menus are generally available to view on school websites and many town newspapers or newsletters also publish them.

Parents pay a fee for the school lunch, which is calculated according to income and can be free in the case of low-income families.

Packed lunch

But what if your child doesn’t like the school lunches and you don’t have time to pick them up, cook a full lunch and take them back in the afternoon everyday? The obvious solution would seem to be to send them in with a packed lunch, as is common in the UK and USA.

In theory this is possible, but only in certain circumstances and with very strict rules and caveats. 

The Ministry, in a written response to a Senator’s question in 2019, said: “The use of packed lunches [home-supplied meals] by primary school students can provide an alternative to school meals. This method of catering is authorised in particular for children with a medically established food allergy or intolerance, requiring an adapted diet.”

READ ALSO How to enrol a non-French speaking child in school in France

It added: “the preparation and use of packed lunches in schools must follow certain rules. First of all, it is important to respect the cold chain”.

The cold chain is a term applied to food handling and distribution – it’s usually used by food-preparation businesses, but in the context of a packed lunch it means that food prepared at home must be kept in appropriately cool conditions until it is ready to eat. It would be the responsibility of parents to ensure that the food is delivered to school in containers appropriate for the job (ie an insulated cool bag).

Once at the school, it is up to whoever manages the kitchen to ensure that food is properly reheated. This becomes the sticking point at which many parents’ requests to send their children to school with a packed lunch, rather than go to the canteen, or eat back at home, are refused.

The reheating concern suggests that schools are also expecting parents to prepare a proper meal – rather than just throwing some sandwiches and a cereal bar into a bag.

Unless there’s a genuine and proven health reason for your child to eat a home-prepared meal, most parents will probably find the school won’t budge on this – even in cases of a strike by kitchen staff or lunch monitors.

READ ALSO Just how much do private schools in France cost?

The Ministry’s written response explains: “[A]s this is an optional public service, the municipality can justify its refusal to admit the children concerned by objective material and financial constraints, such as the need to equip itself with additional refrigerators, or for additional supervisory staff to supervise them during lunch.”

As well as the practicalities, for some schools this is an equality issue – because of the varied fee structure for school lunches what happens in effect is that richer parents are subsidising a good quality lunchtime meal for poorer students in the class; if everyone brought in a packed lunch and therefore stopped paying the fee, the lower-income kids would miss out. 

What about allergies or other health issues?

Children with allergies or other health issues that require a particular diet must be accommodated. An individual meal plan – known as a projet d’accueil individualisé (PAI) can be set up. More details (in French) are available here, on the government’s website.

It also becomes easier for parents to provide home-produced meals in such instances. As ever, it is up to the parents to ensure any meals are appropriately packaged and transported to school.

Not all schools

Some individual schools in France do permit pupils to bring in meals from home. They must be taken to school in an appropriate cold-storage container, and they will be stored in the kitchen area until they are needed, when meals will – if necessary – be reheated.

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