In France, triptans are currently the only reimbursed migraine-specific acute treatments. Previous French reimbursement-based studies have examined triptan use, healthcare burden, and prescribing preferences, but an integrated nationwide assessment of long-term dispensing trends has been lacking. We therefore aimed to assess nationwide trends in triptan dispensing, prescribing patterns, demographic characteristics, and regional disparities in France.

We conducted a nationwide repeated cross-sectional study using OpenMedic, an open-access database derived from the French National Health Data System (SNDS). All reimbursed triptan dispensations identified using the ATC code N02CC were analyzed between 2014 and 2025. Annual dispensing indicators, demographic characteristics, prescriber categories, regional dispensing rates, and molecule-specific dispensing patterns were evaluated.

The annual number of dispensed triptan packages increased by 17.5% between 2014 and 2025 (4.1 to 4.8 million), whereas the number of treated patients remained relatively stable (969,927 to 949,639). Dispensing rates increased from 62.4 to 70.7 packages per 1000 inhabitants, while the mean number of dispensed packages per treated patient increased from 4.25 to 5.11. Reimbursement expenditures markedly decreased from €138.1 million to €66.7 million. Dispensing rates increased most markedly among individuals aged ≥ 60 years. General practitioners remained the main prescribers, although the contribution of neurologists and hospital physicians progressively increased. Persistent regional disparities were observed across French regions.

Triptan dispensing in France increased substantially between 2014 and 2025 despite stable numbers of treated patients. This evolution was mainly characterized by increasing dispensing intensity among treated patients, greater involvement of specialist prescribers, and persistent regional disparities.