Free condoms in pharmacies will also be extended to minors, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, admitting he had been criticized for restricting the measure to young people aged 18-25 the day before, AFP reported.

“Banco, we will do it!”, the head of state said in a message on Twitter and in a video published on social networks.

Emmanuel Macron surprised by announcing the measure on Thursday during a trip dedicated to youth health. “Condoms for 18-25-year-olds will be free in pharmacies. It will start on January 1. This is a small revolution in prevention,” he said.

After the announcement, Macron said in a clip on Twitter on Friday that he had been criticized because “many of our minors are already having sex and they should be able to protect themselves because they may have the same financial constraints.”

“We will involve teams to work to be able to extend this measure to minors (…) I think this is a very good prevention policy to allow all young people to protect themselves,” he adds.

In the video, Emmanuel Macron also indicates that, in addition to HIV, the free examination will be extended “to other pathologies, to other viruses, because this is also our prevention policy.”