Cases of measles rose by 80% in France last year, a new report shows, prompting health authorities to urge people to get vaccinated, as national vaccination levels are below recommended levels.
Santé publique France (SPF) states that there were “873 cases declared, of which 128 were imported [came from abroad]” in 2025. This was an “80% increase compared to 2024”, it said, in its annual report, published on May 18.
Of these, 319 people required hospitalisation (37% of cases) and seven people died – four adults and three children. The adults were immunocompromised individuals, while the children died of late-onset complications from measles caught before 2025.
In 2025 overall, at least one case was reported in 71 departments nationwide, SPF said.
Lack of vaccinations
Measles had been virtually eliminated in France by 2020 at the peak of Covid pandemic, partly due to the strict health restrictions in place at the time (measles is spread in the same way as Covid, namely through infected coughs and sneezes, and droplets in the air).
In recent years, cases of measles have started to rise again.
SPF said that this was largely because the current level of vaccination coverage in France is lower than the 95%-vaccinated rate recommended to effectively eliminate the disease. More than half (60.3%) of the cases identified last year were in people who were not vaccinated or had not completed their vaccinations, it said.
Of 619 cases among people whose vaccination status was known at the time, 51% were not vaccinated at all, 16% had only had one dose, 31% had had two doses, and 1% had an unknown number of doses.
As a result, SPF has called for a “step up in efforts to catch up on vaccinations”, particularly among “adolescents and young adults”. The median age of those infected in 2025 were aged 16.
It recommended that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR; rougeole, oreillons et rubéole, ROR) vaccine is added to existing school vaccination campaigns against human papillomavirus and meningococcal infections.
The MMR vaccine is compulsory for all children in France born after January 1, 2018. Two doses are given – one when the baby turns one, and another at 16-18 months old.
Those born since 1980 are also recommended to have the vaccine if they did not when they were young. Vaccination rates for the 18-35 age group are currently below 90%, lower than the government’s 95% target. Nationwide, the vaccination rate is around 86%, SPF states.
Situational spread
The situation is not unique to France, SPF said, with cases of measles having increased in other countries in recent years.
“In 2024, a resurgence of measles virus circulation was observed internationally in many countries, with a sharp increase in cases and outbreaks, including in Europe and Central Asia, where nearly 151,000 cases were reported,” it said.
However, SPF added that many countries have since managed to curb the rises, unlike France. France’s links with Morocco and Romania may have worsened the situation.
“The existence of major outbreaks in neighboring countries with frequent exchanges with France (notably Morocco and Romania) may have facilitated and increased the importation of the virus,” SPF said.
Figures showed that 2025 saw 28 imported cases, mostly from Morocco. This was a 65% increase compared to 2024. Among these cases, more than half were in unvaccinated people. There were 24 outbreaks in France caused by cases from Morocco, SPF said, with one to six cases identified in each.
A total of 116 ‘clusters’ were identified nationwide, SPF said. These are mini-outbreaks that can be traced back to a single cause, e.g. early childhood care facilities, schools, healthcare establishments, families, or travelling communities.
One major outbreak, which led to 75 cases across 18 departments, was traced back to a trade show in Paris.
What are the symptoms of measles?
Measles generally takes ten days to present symptoms after an infection, which can cause unsuspecting people to spread the disease unknowingly.
The first symptoms include:
Coughing
Tiredness
High fever (potentially reaching up to 40°C)
Runny nose
Conjunctivitis
Swollen eyelids, watery eyes or redness of eyes, and discomfort at the sight of light
Following this, a skin rash will appear, usually starting on a person’s face before moving down the body.
Most primary symptoms may disappear at this point but coughing and fatigue are likely to continue.
If you or anyone in your family presents any of the symptoms above, you should isolate them as much as possible, for up to five days. It is also recommended to frequently air your home, wear a face mask, wash your hands and keep up with hygiene, to limit the spread.
Discredited vaccine theory
The USA is also experiencing a measles outbreak; the worst in the past 30 years, with almost 2,300 cases reported for the whole of 2025, in comparison to 2,000 cases already identified since early 2026. This is partly thought to be as a result of Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. spreading the now-discredited theory that the MMR vaccine is linked to autism.
This theory was first reported in 1998, when a team of researchers published a study in medical journal The Lancet, suggesting that autism was linked to the MMR vaccine.
Later, this study and the team were extensively discredited and disproven, with the report also found to have used falsified data. Many subsequent studies by independent teams on millions of children later found there to be no link between the vaccine and the risk of developing autism.
