Chapter I: Practice of the professions.

Pharmacy assistants are the only people authorised to help the pharmacy owner and the pharmacists assisting him/her in preparing and dispensing medicines for human and veterinary medicine to the public. They may administer certain vaccines under the supervision of a pharmacist. An order of the Minister for Health, issued after obtaining the opinion of the Haute Autorité de Santé, determines the list of vaccines covered by this paragraph, the list…

All pharmacists are authorised to be assisted in their pharmacy by one or more pharmacy assistants.

Under no circumstances may pharmacy assistants take the place of pharmacists with regard to the prerogatives attached to the pharmacist’s diploma or the ownership of pharmacies.

Any person holding a diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualifications awarded following training which has enabled them to acquire the skills required to practise this profession may practise as a pharmacy assistant and hold the title of pharmacy assistant. These diplomas, certificates and titles are defined by regulation.

The conditions for issuing the diplomas, certificates and qualifications mentioned in article L. 4241-4 are set by regulation.

Any person who has obtained a licence to practise issued by the Minister for Health, following the opinion of a commission, including professionals, the membership of which is set by decree, may also practise the profession of pharmacy assistant.

The competent authority may, after obtaining the opinion of a committee composed in particular of professionals, grant individual authorisation to practise the profession of pharmacy assistant to nationals of a Member State of the European Union or of another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area who, without possessing the diploma provided for in Article L. 4241-4, hold : 1° Evidence of formal qualifications issued by one…

Pharmacy assistants may use their evidence of formal qualifications in the language of the State which issued them. He must indicate the place and establishment where it was obtained. Where the evidence of formal qualifications of the Member State or Party of origin is liable to be confused with evidence of formal qualifications requiring additional training in France, the competent authority may decide that the pharmacy technician shall use the…

Persons authorised to practise the profession of pharmacy assistant in application of the provisions prior to 8 July 1977 enjoy, for life, the rights and prerogatives defined in articles L. 4241-1 and L. 4243-1. The “brevet de préparateur” obtained before 31st December 1985, by persons preparing on 1st January 1978 the said “brevet” and by those who began an apprenticeship within twelve months of this date, confers the rights and…

By way of derogation from article L. 4241-1, pharmacy students regularly enrolled in the third year of studies in a pharmaceutical sciences training and research unit are authorised, for the purpose of further training, to carry out the operations mentioned in the said article outside university working hours, provided that they have first completed the pharmacy internship provided for by the provisions in force. Persons belonging to the health reserve…