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French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot has said she is planning to make it illegal to sell alcohol to the under 18s, with legislation expected in 2009.  Her announcement signals a sea change in France where 16-year-olds have been able to buy wine and beer, although not spirits, in cafés and restaurants, and all alcoholic drinks in supermarkets and other shops with an off-licence.

The move comes on the back of recent high profile cases where, in one instance an 18 year old student died from alcohol poisoning in central France, after celebrating passing his end of school exams.  In another, the parent of a girl in Brittany is suing the supermarket who sold three bottles of spirits to his 16 year old daughter, who was later taken unconscious to hospital.

It marks a shift in official thinking over the French approach of introducing the young to alcohol, with the first sips being taken in adolescence under parental supervision.  The approach is said to foster a mature, sensible approach to alcohol, but health experts disagree.  Recent figures have shown that the percentage of under 18s saying they got drunk regularly has risen from 19 to 26 percent between 2003 and 2006.  According to the Health Ministry the number of people under 24 being treated in hospital in connection with alcohol rose by 50 percent between 2004 and 2007.

In an attempt to curb le binge-drinking the Health Ministry released the hard hitting Boire Trop (Too Much to Drink) campaign this summer, warning that excessive alcohol could lead to comas, violence, accidents and sexual abuse.