I popped out to buy some aspirin today. Of course, this being France, means that I have to go to a real pharmacy, queue, and wait for a pharmacist to see me. Okay, I’ve become accustomed to this system, so I don’t fight it anymore. Although I still find it a crazy system.

It’s the cost that drives me crazy. 16 aspirin in the UK cost £0.14 at the local supermarket, or about €0.18 in Euromoney. At the local pharmacy, the same 16 aspirin cost me €4.90. Or 27 times more expensive.