Paris
France’s Health Ministry announced last week that it will no longer cover the cost of nearly a quarter of the nation’s most frequently prescribed drugs because they have “little or no recognized medical effect.” The French pop three times as many pills as the Germans or British, and many of their medicines target illnesses that do not exist in other countries. Many of the 900 drugs to be dropped from medical coverage are intended to combat a common French ailment known as la crise de foi, or liver trouble. In other countries, la crise is known as indigestion, and the only known cure is restraint at the dinner table.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Marie Antoinette Style at the V&A: a ‘magnificent’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends The UK’s first show dedicated solely to the French queen explores the complex woman behind the ‘bling’
-
8 riveting museum exhibitions on view in the fallThe Week Recommends See Winslow Homer rarities and Black art reimagined
-
Crossword: September 18, 2025The Week's daily crossword
