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EU looks to increase Etias travel authorisation fee from €7 to €20
Second-home owners and other visitors from the UK and US will need this from autumn 2026
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What dangerous snakes are in France and what to do if you spot one
Anyone killing a snake risks a fine and potentially a prison sentence
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Ryanair says flights over France must be protected from air traffic controller strikes
Strikes at start of the month cost airlines over €100 million as budget airline claims workers ‘wanted time off’
Antibiotics prescribed less but still over-used
Use of antibiotics is reducing – but France remains the third largest European user in terms of population size after Greece and Cyprus.

Doctors’ prescriptions for antibiotics dropped by 15% from 2009-18, while the number of doses consumed stabilised at 22.5 per 1,000 people, per day, a government report found.
However, over-65s were taking more antibiotics by the end of the study period – up 13% for those aged 65-84, and up 9% for those aged 85 or more.
Dijon Bourgogne hospital infections expert Professor Lionel Piroth says older people are more fragile and grew up in a period when the risks of over-use – including allowing the emergence of more resistant strains of bacteria for which there are no treatments – were not known.
Antibiotics should not be used for treating viral infections, he added.
If France reduced consumption to the level of the Netherlands, the Sécu would save €400million a year.