We brought only a small supply with us, but haven’t been able to find them in supermarkets. Do they only come from a pharmacy, or is there somewhere it’s easy to get them?
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Those sort of medication can only be bought in a pharmacy or para pharmacy and never in any supermarket. This is not the UK where you can buy Paracetamol in Asda off the shelf, here its only things like vitamins and items that cannot harm plus without an ordnance you can only buy certain amount too from the pharmacy
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I’m sure the supermarkets would love to sell it but the pharmacists have tight control, this is France after all.
200mg and 400mg tablets can be sold by pharmacies without prescription but relatively small quantities - 12 tablets typically (admittedly the maximum in the UK is only 16, though pharmacies can supply up to 100).
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Pharmacies are wonderful in France ..I have found them extremely cooperative .and they are typically in the same building as a supermarket … I have needed my prescription drugs extended and each time I went down ..with my empty or near empty box with the Irish pharmacy logo and my name ..All they wanted was my passport for confirmation
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Pharmacies will sell you at least 2 packets (12 x 400mg) of ibuprofen at a time in my experience.
Paracetamol is usually sold in 12-16 tablet packets of 1000mg tablets as well. so get used to taking single tablets.
Forget buying anything containing codine or any other opioid without a prescription (ordinance) anywhere.
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If you mean pick up a packet and pay, then no.
Even if there is only one person in front of you in the pharmacy you will be there at least 15 minutes as this one person goes into the minutiae of all their ailments and he (or she) and the pharmacist discuss the finer points of alternative solutions.
Bear in mind though, that when it comes to your turn, should you so choose, you too can have your 15 minutes as you discuss the number of ibroprofen you need, in what potency and format, any contraindications, especially not to be taken with blood thinners and the maximum per day.
I exaggerate - but not by much. 
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My (limited) experience of pharmacies in France is they compound their monopoly by overselling.
We went in for some bite cream - some Marie Rose would have done nicely (€5.79 for 50g on amazon.fr) but we got sold 35g of some cream which was clearly intended to be the gold standard with antihistamine, steroid and lidocaine - but each at a concentration which made it less than effective - €13,50 for the 35g 
I am prepared to acknowledge cultural differences in the French attitude to health and pharmacies
I always insist on the 500mg of paracetamol, and 200mg of ibuprofen. Admittedly as a RN and MW I’ve given out more doses than most people however to me these ‘new’ (I know not that new!) double strength ones are an accident waiting to happen IMHO! Also I’m crap at swallowing tablets and they look terrifying 
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I’m a drug trafficker, always bring them with me
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I brought several 96-pill packages with me. I knew it would be cheaper than buying it here, but I suspect I shouldn’t have …
Having used the same pharmacy every month for 20 odd years we have got to know all the staff.
A new restaurant opened in the village. We found ourselves sat at a table next to all the pharmacy staff.
The next day I had to go to the pharmacy and went to one of the five check in desks. She asked what we had at the restaurant and if it was any good. I reciprocated and eventually all the staff were grouped around the one checkout discussing the merits of the new restaurant (with one or two customers joining in as well).
It never pays to be in a hurry in France.
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You can buy from online pharmacies, here is a comparison site: https://www.unooc.fr/
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The secret is to be there as they reopen after lunch at 2pm, the place will either be like the grave, or full of English people. The French do not like their mealtimes disturbed.
The staff are obviously on double time or foreigners in disguise.
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The French doctors seem to really frown on ibuprofen, for some reason. In the US its considered safer than jelly beans, and cheaper. It’s the only thing that works for me, but I might take 10 a year, if that many.
I think the generic packs of 12x500mg ibuprofen my local pharmacies stock cost around €4 and those last me at least 6 months depending how often I hurt myself gardening or lifting something I shouldn’t.
And they don’t waste their time opening boxes that contain 28 tablets to add three so that one has a 31 dsy supply. The number of pharmacist hours wasted every year due to this ridicules practice must be in the thousands. 
To be fair, Irish pharmacies will fill French prescriptions too. They have even filled one my daughter wrote for me in Oz and emailed me 
It’s contraindicated for some prescription medicines. I know I can’t take it but I’m not sure for which reason. Maybe, like aspirin, my blood thinner Apixaban 
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Yes, it’s your Apixaban. And not just ibruprofen. You need to check any time you are prescribed an anti-inflammatory.
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I get on OK with my local Pharmacie, but have noticed a couple of things,
French online pharmacies seem to sell nicotine patches much cheaper than UK sources. I have bought them here and taken them into the UK to help others get off the weed.
And noting what @billybutcher says about over-selling, what is it with Pharmacies and homeopathy? I really am surprised they co-exist.
Mind you I don’t know if any French natives found a UK pharmacy being the place to get photos developed, back in the day, normal? Some accident of history?
The pharmacy used to be the Chemists shop - the connection is then obvious.
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