MPs in France have overwhelmingly supported an account that makes it easier to open bars in the villages – a move aimed at reviving social life in small rural communities.
On Monday, they vote 156-2, the MPs decided to release strict limitations of new alcohol-sale permissions. The proposal of the law still needs the approval of the Senate to become a law.
Supporters say change is needed to better strengthen social connections and reduce insulation – but critics warn of health risks through alcoholism.
France recorded a sharp drop of about 200,000 bars and cafes, which served alcohol in 1960 to about 36,000 in 2015. Most of the closing was in rural areas.
In France, a law requires a 4 -type 4 alcohol permit to open a bar that sells alcoholic beverages, including hard spirits with more than 18% alcohol.
Currently, new such permits cannot be approved, and those planning to open at least have to wait until the existing drinking place is closed to get their license.
The new legislation would provide potential managers of lawyer in communities with less than 3,500 people and without a lawyer to request a brand new license without such a wait.
Local mayors would have a final word about whether to approve or reject such requests.
MP Guillaume Kasbarian said the “old and outdated legal framework” should be replaced, the AFP news agency reported.
He was also quoted by Fabien di Filippo, another French MP, who described the grids as “above all, a place for people to gather in very rural areas and in the society where people tend to be closed in themselves.”
The French Ministry of Health says that every year about 49,000 deaths in the country caused by alcohol consumption, which describes it as a “great issue of public health”.
