French parliament considers new laws on to combat alcoholism and ‘le binge drinking’

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The French National Assembly has been looking at new laws this week relating to the sale and advertising of alcohol, trying to balance the needs of the flagging wine industry with improving the nation's health.

As the name suggests, the new bill entitled 'hospitals, patients, health, territory' has a wide-ranging remit, of which alcohol is only one part.  This week the debate centred around the proposal to ban 'open-bars' that would have a knock-on effect on wine-tastings, festivals and traditional fairs, something embedded in French culture.  After opposition to the text, a widely supported amendment has been made that excludes these types of events, but still forbids fixed-price deals for unlimited alcohol consumption.  Alain Suguenot (UMP) summed up the mood of many of his peers in saying "let us not make wine the scapegoat of our society."  

The text also prohibits the sale of alcohol to under 18s (under 16s at present), and this point has yet to be disputed by those considering the new laws, who see it as essential in fighting the increasing phenomenon of binge drinking.

On Monday (9 March), parliament will start to discuss the more thorny issue of internet advertising of alcohol.  The current ban on advertising which was introduced in 1991, came long before the internet became established, and therefore does not cater for that relatively new form of publicity.  Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot is keen to ban advertising of alcohol on sites aimed at youth and sports, whilst an amendment tabled by a combination of UMP and PS politicians wants to allow advertising of alcohol only on the websites of alcohol producers and distributors.

The amendments will be seen as good news for France's ailing wine industry, which has seen a global reduction in market share over recent years.  The industry was dealt a further blow in February with the revelation from cancer experts that even one glass of wine per day can increase the risk of contracting the disease.  Any further bad news as a result of this bill could have put the final nail in the coffin of one of France's key industries.

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