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Activist: Dispense free condoms in schools

PARIS, April 5 (UPI) -- The French government should install free condom machines in schools, the head of a charity fighting AIDS said.

The proposal by Pierre Berge, president of Sidaction, comes as the government considers whether to make available home test kits for HIV, The Local.fr reported Friday.

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Berge said Education Minister Vincent Peillon should ensure condoms are freely available in high schools and colleges. He also wants "proper sex education for kids."

Peillon has said France "needs to find a way to do better" to increase students' access to contraceptives.

Putting condom machines in schools was first proposed 1992, and mentioned again in 2006 in a government brochure. However, such vending machines have not been widely used.

A teacher at one school where the machines have been installed doubted the proposal would have much effect.

"We hardly ever need to restock them because students dare not buy them on school premises," the teacher said.

The government could soon introduce HIV test kits to be used at home as a way of reducing the number of HIV cases.

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