The main surprising thing (to me) is that it's an OTC medication over there, and here (UK) you can buy it almost anywhere, even sometimes in pubs!

I must speak to #1 daughter, who is doing her pharmacy pre-registration year. There may be some sort of blanket ruling about where and how medicines are sold. I've never bought aspirin over there, but from my few experiences of French pharmacies I seem to remember the body of the shop being mainly toiletries, with the medications firmly behind the dispensing counter.

Andrea