Overview
In France there is no separate legal category for "research peptides": any product presented or used for a therapeutic, weight-loss or performance purpose is treated as a medicine, and a medicine may only be sold if it holds a marketing authorisation. Approved peptide drugs (for example semaglutide-based Wegovy/Ozempic, or recombinant growth hormone) are classified on the lists of substances vénéneuses and dispensed only in pharmacies on prescription. Unapproved peptides such as BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu or retatrutide sold online or through gyms and informal channels are regarded by the national medicines agency (ANSM) as illegal, unevaluated products, and in July 2026 ANSM issued sanitary-police decisions to withdraw them and ban their sale and advertising. Importing them is also restricted: all imports of medicines require prior ANSM authorisation, and private individuals may only carry limited quantities for their own prescribed treatment.
Key Points
- ANSM warns that products sold online as "peptides" — including retatrutide, BP180, TB500, GH, GHK-Cu, BPC-157 and NAD+ — are fraudulent products offered without health-authority authorisation and should not be bought or used. [1]
- The ANSM alert was published on 2 July 2026 and states that these products are presented as medicines although they have neither been evaluated nor authorised. [2]
- On 22 July 2026 ANSM announced further sanitary-police measures (décisions de police sanitaire) against named companies to withdraw peptide products presented as GLP-1 agonists and to prohibit their sale and advertising. [3]
- France has no peptide-specific schedule; medicinal substances that are dangerous or whose effects require medical supervision are classified by ANSM on Lists I and II of substances vénéneuses under Article L.5132-6 of the Public Health Code, which makes them prescription-only. [4]
- Legitimate peptide medicines are tightly framed rather than freely available: ANSM has taken specific measures to secure the use of GLP-1 analogues, including Wegovy (semaglutide), which has been marketed in France since October 2024. [5]
- Any importation of medicines into French customs territory requires a prior import authorisation issued by ANSM. [6]
- Private individuals may import medicines only by personal transport and only in quantities compatible with their own therapeutic use for the duration shown on the prescription, or three months by default; quantities exceeding personal use are absolutely prohibited on import. [7]
- Online retail sale of medicines in France is lawful only when carried out by a pharmacist from a licensed pharmacy, so websites shipping unapproved injectable peptides fall outside the authorised e-commerce channel, and the manufacture, brokering, advertising, sale, import or export of falsified medicines is punishable by five years' imprisonment and a €375,000 fine. [8]
- In sport, possession without duly justified medical reason of a non-specified prohibited substance listed under the Code du sport can attract criminal sanctions under Article L.232-26, per the arrêté of 11 August 2025 fixing that list. [9]