Women who want them removed for 'peace of mind' will have to pay the bill themselves.
UK regulators have insisted there is no link with cancer and said before the French advice was issued that there was no need for women to have the implants removed.
But more than 270 women in the UK intend to sue those clinics where they underwent surgery to be fitted with the implants manufactured by PIP, which has now closed.
The Department of Health said it was not echoing the French advice as there was no evidence to support it.
Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies said: "Women with PIP implants should not be unduly worried. We have no evidence of a link to cancer or an increased risk of rupture.
"If women are concerned, they should speak to their surgeon. I will be writing to GPs so that they are aware of the concerns women may have and can talk them through with their patients.
"While we respect the French government's decision, no other country is taking similar steps because we currently have no evidence to support it.
"Because of this, and because removing these implants carries risk in itself, we are not advising routine removal of these implants."
Health experts will continue to examine any further evidence from France and across the world on the issue and the Government will keep the situation under close review, she added.
Lawyers acting for women suing the clinics welcomed the recommendation by the French authorities.
Mark Harvey, a partner at Hugh James solicitors, which is representing more than 250 women, said some of his clients had complained of inflammation, fatigue and fibromyalgia, a musculoskeletal pain disorder.
Speaking about Mr Bertrand's advice that the implants be removed, he said: "We've said all along that's what should happen.
"We're pleased there's no cancer link but cross with the way this has been handled as it has caused panic.
"As far as we're concerned we should follow suit in this country but my view is the Government should order the clinics to remove and replace the implants at their cost and not the taxpayer's.
"A number of the clinics went into liquidation when this blew up and aren't around so in that respect the Government will have to step in, but the reality is there's still a large number of clinics out there that are still trading and they're saying if you want the implants removed and replaced you'll have to pay for them all over again.
?The NHS should not be expected to bear the whole brunt of the costs, but those private clinics that are still in existence should be providing the surgery free of charge.?
He accused the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of failing to take action to deal with complaints and of dismissing serious health problems linked to the devices.
He also said there should have been "ongoing dialogue" between the MHRA and the French authorities so that women could have been kept better informed.
Another lawyer, Kevin Timms from Garden House Solicitors, has lodged a group action with the High Court and expects a hearing may be held by summer next year.
The action involves 27 complainants and 13 defendants who are the clinics where patients had their surgery.
Douglas McGeorge, of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said the move by the French government was likely to be politically motivated and he hoped the clinics who used the PIP implants in Britain would remove them at cost.
A spokesman for the MHRA said: "We recognise the concern that some women who have these implants may be feeling but we currently have no evidence of any increase in incidents of cancer associated with these implants and no evidence of any disproportionate rupture rates other than in France.
"We therefore do not believe that the associated risks of surgery from breast implant removal can be justified without further evidence."
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