French 'sceptical about vaccines'

The figures mean that France - the birthplace of Louis Pasteur - is the least confident in the world about the safety of vaccines, with 41% of those surveyed disagreeing that they are safe, more than three times the global average of 12%.

Meanwhile, 17% of French people questioned doubt their effectiveness and 12% do not believe childhood vaccination is important, researchers found.

The study, by scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine questioned almost 66,000 people across 67 countries between September and December 2015 on whether they considered vaccines important, safe, effective and compatible with religious beliefs.

Anthropologist Heidi Larson, who led the study, said she was surprised at the negative French attitude to vaccines, but noted continuing reservations about flu vaccines following the swine flu epidemic in 2009.

"There was a furor that the government bought so much of that vaccine and a worry that it was made too quickly and couldn’t be safe," she said.