Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centres in France

How does public addiction treatment work in France?

Public addiction treatment in France runs mainly through CSAPA, medico-social addiction centers financed by Assurance Maladie, the national health insurer. Anyone can walk in to a CSAPA without a referral, families can contact one as well, and the care is free and anonymous. Hospital addiction units add consultations, detox and inpatient stays.

CSAPA sit alongside CAARUD, harm-reduction centers for people who use drugs and are not necessarily in treatment. Both are overseen by the ARS for their region. Hospital addiction care is listed at some of the rehabs in France, and walk-in services at a few.

Do I need a referral for rehab in France?

No referral is needed to start addiction treatment in France, because a person can contact a CSAPA directly, and many people begin there. A GP can also refer someone to an addiction specialist, and a doctor or social worker can direct a person toward care through the ARS, the regional health agency.

Young people, mainly aged 12 to 25, can use Consultations Jeunes Consommateurs, youth consultations attached to CSAPA, and their families can come along too. Teen rehab is listed at some of the rehabs in France, and programs for young adults at a few.

Can someone be made to go to rehab in France?

France has two legal routes into treatment that do not rest on a free choice. Under the Code de la santé publique, a doctor or social worker can report a dependent drug user to the ARS, which orders a medical exam and can require a detox cure, and a judge can impose an injonction thérapeutique, a court-ordered therapeutic injunction.

Articles L3412-1 to L3412-3 of the Code cover the health agency route, and Articles L3413-1 to L3413-4 cover the court route. Teenagers have a separate protection: under Article L1111-5, a doctor may treat a minor without parental consent when the minor asks for secrecy and the care is needed to protect their health, provided an adult of the minor’s choosing comes along.

Is addiction treatment confidential in France?

Treatment records in France are protected by medical secrecy under Article L1110-4 of the Code de la santé publique, which sets out the right to privacy and confidentiality of health information. The EU General Data Protection Regulation applies alongside it, and CSAPA go a step further by letting people attend anonymously.

Families can also approach a CSAPA in confidence about a relative’s drinking or drug use. Family education is listed at some of the rehabs in France, and aftercare at some.

How can I look up a provider in France?

France has no register of addiction licenses, so looking up a provider means using two public sources. Santé.fr, the national public health information service, lists health professionals and establishments, including CSAPA and CAARUD, and each regional health agency publishes the addresses of the public addiction centers in its area of France.

Before admission, a clinic can say in writing which public body oversees it and whether a stay there can be billed to Assurance Maladie.

What does rehab in France cost?

Private residential rehab in France has an estimated typical range of €8,900 to €23,700 a month, and medical detox €5,300 to €16,600. Outpatient care runs from about €1,100 to €3,600 a month, while care at a public CSAPA costs nothing for the person attending, whatever their level of need.

The level of care, the type of room and the length of stay shape the final bill. Self-pay is listed at a few of the rehabs in France, since most listings there are publicly funded.

Does Assurance Maladie pay for hospital detox?

Assurance Maladie covers 80 percent of the cost of hospital detox in France, calculated on its reimbursement base, according to insurer guidance on addiction cover. The remaining share and the daily hospital charge, the forfait journalier hospitalier, are often paid by a complementary insurer known as a mutuelle, depending on the contract.

Medical detox is listed at some of the rehabs in France, and hospital detox at a few. State insurance is accepted at nearly all of them.

Will a mutuelle cover private rehab in France?

A mutuelle in France tops up statutory cover rather than replacing it, typically paying remaining hospital fees, extra fees and the daily hospital charge. What it pays for addiction treatment depends on the individual contract, and private psychotherapy with a psychologist is not reimbursed by Sécurité sociale, although some mutuelles contribute toward it.

People insured outside France rely on the terms of their own policy. Anyone who comes to France on a medical visa pays for that treatment without French public cover.

Which medications treat opioid addiction in France?

Opioid substitution treatment in France uses methadone and buprenorphine. Any community doctor can prescribe buprenorphine, while a first methadone prescription is reserved for doctors at a CSAPA or in a hospital, after which care can continue elsewhere. Pharmacies dispense both medicines under the rules for narcotic prescriptions.

A methadone prescription covers up to 14 days at a time, and a buprenorphine prescription up to 28 days. Methadone and buprenorphine are listed at some of the rehabs in France, and methadone maintenance at a few.

Is naloxone sold without a prescription in France?

Ready-to-use naloxone, which reverses an opioid overdose, is available in France without a prescription in two forms, a nasal spray and an injection, from pharmacies and from CSAPA and CAARUD. One other nasal spray product does need a prescription, so a pharmacist can say which form is on hand.

Overdose prevention education is listed at a few of the rehabs in France.

Can I travel to France for rehab?

Visitors can come to France for rehab on a short-stay visa for medical care, which France issues for treatment and which also allows tourism. Visa-required visitors can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area, and French public health insurance does not cover their treatment costs.

Supporting documents for the medical visa are reviewed under medical confidentiality. Travelers bringing narcotic medicines for personal use need no French certificate, but they must carry the original prescription, ideally with an English translation, and show it to customs on request.

French is the treatment language at nearly all of the rehabs in France, so therapy in English depends on the clinic. English-language Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are held in Paris, Nice, Toulouse and other cities, according to the AA meeting list for continental Europe. Rehab is also listed in Belgium, Switzerland and Spain.

Who do rehabs in France serve?

Rehabs in France mostly serve adults, with men’s and women’s outpatient care listed at nearly all of them. Teen outpatient care appears at some, and a few list care for pregnant women, including methadone and buprenorphine, along with support for people living with HIV or hepatitis.

Women’s rehab, men’s rehab, rehab for pregnant women and HIV and hepatitis support each have their own pages. Alcohol is treated at most of the rehabs in France, opioid addiction and cocaine at some, and co-occurring mental health conditions at a few.

Which helplines cover all of France?

Drogues Info Service answers on 0 800 23 13 13, free and anonymous, with listed hours of 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day. Alcool Info Service takes calls about drinking on 0 980 980 930, and Joueurs Info Service covers gambling on 09 74 75 13 13. Santé publique France, the national public health agency, runs all three lines.

Rehab listings for other countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal, are on the Europe page.