Distributors of free periodic protection with open access

“Zero euro, zero stress, zero complex. The town hall of Nantes inaugurated on Wednesday its first distributors of periodic protections in free access. Thirty machines with a capacity of 300 products each are thus installed in public places scattered in the different districts of the city: neighborhood houses, associative centers, district town halls (Malakoff, Doulon, Bottière, Nantes Nord), swimming pools (Jules -Verne, Durantière), media library (Jacques-Demy), leisure center (Petit-Port) but also the Agnès-Varda space for homeless people, as well as two parks (Procé and Chantiers)…

Three types of protection are distributed free of charge: sanitary napkins, digital tampons and tampons with applicator. “We ensured the quality of the products, explains Sarah Caquineau, head of public policy for the gender-neutral city. These are made of organic cotton, with international certification. They contain no chemicals, fragrances or dyes. The replenishment will be carried out “throughout the year” by city agents.

“Lifting the taboo of menstruation”

“The objective is to fight against inequalities in access to periodic protection, but also to lift the taboo of the rules, justifies Mahaut Bertu (PS), deputy mayor of Nantes. Having access to this basic necessity should be a right. The approach targets two audiences in particular: young people and women in precarious situations.

The commissioning of the 30 distributors, which cost around 45,000 euros, is an “experiment” planned to last a year. If the test “really meets the needs”, a “larger scale” deployment will be considered in a second step. “We will then study the possibility of positioning them in places accessible 24 hours a day, a street or public toilets, for example”, specifies Mahaut Bertu.

Since the re-election of Johanna Rolland (PS) in July 2020, the town hall of Nantes has set itself the objective of “become within ten years the first sexist city in France”.