France has taken the regulatory step the European cannabis sector had awaited for years: the draft decree generalising medical cannabis was submitted to the Conseil d’État on 2 July 2026. The text sets out how cannabis-based medicines will be evaluated, registered and reimbursed within the French social security system. It is not an immediate market opening, but it unlocks everything else that depended on it.
From experiment to legal obligation
Since 2021 France ran a pilot programme that peaked at almost 3,000 patients and today treats around 700. The difference now is that generalisation is no longer a policy choice: the 2024 Social Security Finance Act turned it into a binding legal obligation. The decree moving forward is the instrument that puts that obligation into practice, shifting from a temporary framework to a permanent one.
The final push came backed by data. The U.CANNABIS study, built on the pilot programme’s own cohort, showed significant reductions in opioid and analgesic use across four indications, an argument that weighed on the Health Ministry’s commitment to the July timeline.
Why real access won’t arrive before 2027
Publishing the decree does not enable prescribing overnight. After the Conseil d’État’s opinion, the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) must issue its reimbursement opinion; without it, companies cannot register products with the ANSM and generalised prescribing cannot begin. In the best case, the decree would be published at the parliamentary opening on 1 October, HAS would rule before year-end, and the first prescriptions under a permanent framework would arrive in 2027.
An import market opening up to producers
This is where the B2B interest lies. French domestic cultivation will not be operational until around 2028, so initial demand will be met through imports, with Canada, Portugal and Denmark as reference suppliers at the outset. Official projections move from 5,454 patients in 2026 to more than 457,000 in 2035, and market value would jump from €9.6 million to some €806 million under the 65% reimbursement scenario.
The authorised product sets the rules of the game: dried flower in sealed capsules for vaporisation, with loose flower excluded and pharmaceutical-grade supply required. For any operator with EU-GMP standards, it is an orderly access opportunity.
- New import demand in the medium term for producers with EU-GMP certification.
- An edge for established exporters, such as much of the Spanish industry oriented toward foreign markets.
- Defined formats (flower in capsules for vaporisation) that shape packaging and logistics.
- Regulatory bottleneck: HAS and ANSM set the real timing for market entry.
Europe is organising market by market
France joins a continental movement in which Germany sets the pace and Spain has just opened its magistral formulation route. Each new national regulation widens the map of destinations for producers, laboratories and distributors, but it also raises the bar on pharmaceutical rigour and traceability. The operator who arrives prepared for these openings starts ahead.
It is precisely these moves —where demand opens, what each regulator requires and how to position— that will be discussed at Spannabis B2B Bilbao 2027, the International Cannabis Business Forum bringing the sector together on 11 March 2027 at the BEC’s VIP Room. If your company is looking to France, Germany or the Spanish market, it is the place to close deals. Check the tickets or book your spot at a B2B table.