Unlike many other countries, over-the-counter medicines can only be sold in pharmacies in France so you won't find these in the supermarket. If you have one of these you may need some sirop antitussif (cough medicine) and for that you will also need to visit a pharmacy. If you're buying cough medicine you will probably be asked if your cough is sèche (dry) grasse (wet or productive cough) aïgue (severe) or chronique (long-lasting). Flu season affects thousands of people every year in France and if you're in an at-risk group it's still not to late to get your flu vaccine (full details of how to access it - The flu. If you want to say that something hurts, you say J'ai mal au/a la [insert body part here]".

Source: The Local November 21, 2019 11:15 UTC