France moves to ban sale of alcohol to minors

France moves to ban sale of alcohol to minors

PARIS: French lawmakers passed an amendment Monday to ban the sale of alcohol to minors, part of an effort to tackle the rise of binge drinking in a country known for a relaxed attitude toward a little libation.

The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, moved to ban the sale of alcohol to teens under age 18 and subject violators to fines of up to €7,500 ($9,400).

The change, if passed in its final form, could mark the beginning of a cultural shift. The French are among the world's top consumers of wine but proud of their tradition of moderation. And some give their children watered wine with dinner from a young age.

The drinking age in France currently varies depending on the type of alcohol involved and the place of sale. But anyone 16 or older can order beer and wine in bars.

The vote was the first legislative step on a proposal floated by the conservative government last fall. Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot wants to make it illegal for minors to buy any type of alcohol in any setting.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/03/09/europe/EU-France-Alcohol.php

I remember being in a night club in Vienna with kids who looked fourteen. They sipped wine and talked like any of the adults. I was told its considered "babyish" to get drunk and stupid.

And this new law will make drinking a "grownup" thing to do. I'll bet drunkenness of the youth will be on the rise soon.

It appears that teens are teens the world over.

People under 18 get depressed too. How do binge drinking problems "rise"? This could also be a conservative who is concerned about the "rise" of problematic teen drinking from 1% to 1.1% we don't know.

Maybe it's the French Ministry Against Importation Of Anything Having Anything To Do With An American Cohort. After all, "binge drinking" is sooooo American and has to be stopped. Welcome to French Nationalism.

It did seem to make more sense, and I do think the attitudes were healthier. Then again, I remember being able to have watered-down wine at celebrations, dinner parties and in US restaurants growing up (maybe they were only the French restaurants).

It is dumb to get drunk. That doesn't mean it will ever stop. : )

Jean-Paul Sartre would say there's "No Exit".

:wtf: is this world coming to?

What are they going to do cut them off when they hit their teens and have them all going through the DTs?

Got to be a better way.

Don

They banned public smoking and the closure rate of bars and cafes has been huge (an average of 2 a day).

it was liberals. i live just outside seattle, and it was a purely liberal push to ban smoking here (and one i TOTALLY disagree with, fwiw).

statists want to ban all sorts of stuff. we have left wing statists, too.

they've passed bans on smoking, transfat, fortified liquor, etc.

it's a disease i detest. treating people like children.

in most jurisdictions, as long as it's done in the home, and by the parents/legal guardian.

imo, it's a good idea to teach responsible drinking vs. have the kids go hog wild the first time they are exposed to it.

i was given watered down wine on occasion with dinner.

it is perfectly legal here in WA state, fwiw.

even when we were kids. The good kind - raw eggs and rum. We ate those liqeuer-filled chocolates at Christmas too, probably way over what should have been acceptable. Euro family of course. My mother had greater passion fits when my father allowed us a few bites of his cherished steak taretare that he refused to give up until the last minute of public service announcements denouncing anything but 3-hour boiled meat.