The legislators of France massively supported a bill facilitating the opening of bars in the villages – a decision aimed at relaunching social life in small rural communities.
During a 156-2 vote on Monday, the deputies decided to loosen strict restrictions on the permits of new bars to sell alcohol. The bill still needs an approval from the Senate to become law.
Supporters say that change is necessary to improve social ties and reduce isolation – but criticism warns against alcoholism health risks.
France experienced a strong fall of around 200,000 bars and cafes in the service of alcohol in 1960 to some 36,000 by 2015. Most of the closures were in rural areas.
In France, a type 4 alcohol license is required by law to open a bar selling alcoholic beverages, including hard spirits with more than 18% alcohol.
Currently, no new permit can be granted, and those who plan to open a bar must wait until the existing place of consumption is closing to acquire its license.
The new legislation would allow managers of potential bars in communities of less than 3,500 people and without bar bar to request a brand new license without such a wait.
Local mayors would have the last word on the opportunity to approve or refuse these requests.
The legislator Guillaume Kasbarian said that “an ancient and obsolete legal framework” should be replaced, reported the AFP news agency.
He also quoted Fabien Di Filippo, another French deputy, who described bars like “above all, places where people meet in very rural areas and in a society where people tend to close”.
The French Ministry of Health says that each year, around 49,000 deaths in the country are caused by alcohol consumption, describing this as a “major public health problem”.
