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Wilko
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Just had an excellent lunch with Mrs W in a nearby village. We asked for a carafe d'eau only to be told that the water is so bad in the village they don't offer it...... but only charge 3 euros for a bottle of Evian. We have eaten at 2 other restos in the village and drunk the tap water...........no problem.

My question............is it lawful for a resto to refuse to serve chateau robinet...........they wouldn't let us try the water to make our own minds up as to the drinkability of it. We won't be going there again, or sending our clients there from our B&B.........we were a little teed off with their attitude

Incidentally we did consume an excellent bottle of Gigondas at 40 euros, so we weren't cheapskating. I object to bottled water A, it's a con & B http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/5208645/Drowning-in-plastic-The-Great-Pacific-Garbage-Patch-is-twice-the-size-of-France.html

Bon Ap

Wilko

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Patf has a good point.

In several places around here it is periodically forbidden to drink the tap water, and there is a delivery of bottles for drinking.

I have see the water come from the tap opaque and muddy in my favorite café after a dry spell followed by heavy rain.

Don't automatically assume they are on the make...

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I am told by one of my French friends here, who is Head of Technical Services for the Communes around here and whose special responsibility is drinking water, that ALL tap water in France is of high quality and drinkable - by law.  There are  many tests to be done these days, and long gone are the days when tap water was "suspect" but old habits die hard he said.  He had lots of slides (at the talk he gave) to show all this.

If there is a problem with the water, there will have been an announcement made by the mairie, and bottled water supplied until the problem clears. 

It is also true, I believe, that tap water has to be available in restaurants, by law, as already stated. - and if I remember rightly, there was a forum thread about tap water and restaurants, and the law, some time ago.

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[quote user="Judith"]I am told by one of my French friends here, who is Head of Technical Services for the Communes around here and whose special responsibility is drinking water, that ALL tap water in France is of high quality and drinkable - by law.  Ther are  many tests to be done these days, and long gone are the days when tap water was "suspect" but old habits die hard he said.  He had lots of slides (at the talk he gave) to show all this.

It is also true, I believe, that tap water has to be available, by law, as already stated.

[/quote]

A bit like the nuclear cloud after Chernobyl that conveniently stopped at the French frontier [:)]

They would say that wouldn't they...especially if his 'special responsibility is drinking water'...

see:

http://languedoc-roussillon.france3.fr/info/marsillargues-privee-d-eau-potable-68438309.html

and

http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2011/06/22/1112654-le-mystere-de-l-eau-du-robinet-polluee.html

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I'm not going to rise to that one, Norman.  He is not a typical Frenchman, he speaks good English to start with, and is, like me, a Rotarian, so of good character .... I accept that water can become polluted, but I was saying what is laid down .... and which he has to ensure is implemented.

In any case, if the water was polluted, as I said in my previous post, replacement water is supplied, so if that was the reason why the restaurant did not serve tap water, the water would have been supplied foc and the restaurant should not have charged for it.

And in W's situation I think I would have said, I want tap water, and made my own mind up.  Some tap water does taste strange, but it is intrinsically quite safe to drink.

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Has anyone a 'texte' to show that a restaurant has to provide water free in law?

I suspect that this is an urban legend...and that it is a custom but not an obligation.

It is true that in the frequent cases where tap water is not drinkable

it is replaced free by bottled water, but this only goes to show how ludicrous it is to claim that  'ALL tap water is drinkable   by law..'

Lawyers may have many powers but they are not yet miracle workers .

I can believe that the authorities have an obligation to provide water that is fit to drink, but clearly tap water is often not

http://midi-pyrenees.france3.fr/info/distribution-gratuite-d-eau-a-cahors-63642889.html

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[quote user="NormanH"]Has anyone a 'texte' to show that a restaurant has to provide water free in law?

I suspect that this is an urban legend...and that it is a custom but not an obligation.

It is true that in the frequent cases where tap water is not drinkable it is replaced free by bottled water, but this only goes to show how ludicrious it is to claim that  'ALL tap water is drinkable   by law..'
Lawyers may have many powers but they are not yet miracle workers

http://midi-pyrenees.france3.fr/info/distribution-gratuite-d-eau-a-cahors-63642889.html
[/quote]

Provison of inclusion, so no popping into a Bistrot for a free carafe.

http://www.lhotellerie-restauration.fr/journal/juridique-social-droit/2008-11/La-carafe-deau-doit-etre-fournie-gratuitement-au-restaurant.htm

http://www.economie.gouv.fr/dgccrf/Carafe-d-eau-verre-d-eau

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In Belgium they dont have the same obligation and shaft you for bottled water, they are a bit tired by now of the French customers who rale about it, when I was refused i walked out to my car and brought in my battered and crumpled Sigg water bottle with a stained tatty sleeve that has travelled around the world with me, it is not a thing of beauty and certainly lowered the tone of the place.

When I was paying the addition I asked the patron if he would refill it for me from the tap for my return journey, he obliged but he didnt want to touch the thing and found a pichet under the counter to move the water from the tap to my bottle, I said to him next time if you serve me tap water in that I wont bring in the gourd, i got the impression that next time i would be refused entry.

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Chancer the restaurant in question is run by Belgians !!

I had a look at reviews for the resto on L'internaute and Tripadvisor.............a number of people have mentioned their similar discontent.

I wonder who one would report this to to give these people a slap on the wrists. I did some very rough calculations and by refusing to dispense tap water they are probably netting around 12K per annum. Not a bad little earner. The reason I am truly teed off is the woman's attitude.

Incidentally friends of ours ate in a restaurant in the same village, some 300 metres away, and were served a carafe of tap water gratuit, it tasted fine.

Bon ap

Wilko
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It might have wasted fewer people's time here if you had given that information in your first post.

Despite Judith's contact saying that 'all tap water in France' is drinkable, simple experience as in the links I quoted proves that it often isn't, and in those cases it would be simply good sense for the owner not to serve a carafe of contaminated water.

In the case you mention it is clearer, with the additional details you now give, that it might be a try on.

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Norman.......what information ? that they were Belgian ? It was the legal position I was looking for which PP supplied..............It doesn't make any difference if they are from Belgian or Ireland as far as I can see.

So in future don't respond to my posts cos i would hate to waste your very valuable time. Of course it's a bluddy try on

W
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This summer, the towns tapwater was hellish - a very strong taste of bleach for periods of weeks at a time. We were assured that it was fit for consumption, but just unpleasant.

At my restaurant, we have tapwater in jugs which we keep refrigerated, and plenty of people complained about the taste. I was happy to sell them a bottle of spring water at the normal price. Most people stuck with the free stuff.

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  • 3 weeks later...
[quote user="Frenchie"]

[quote user="Judith"]I'm not going to rise to that one, Norman.  He is not a typical Frenchman, he speaks good English to start with, and is, like me, a Rotarian, so of good character .... [/quote]

Can you please develop this ? [;-)]

[/quote]

Frenchie,

Sorry, I've only just seen this - been away.  The answer is that he atypical because he speaks English about as fluently as you could wish for, he has an international attitude, having worked abroad, he enjoys eating meals not typically French - he is tall (very), sociable, not at all chauvinistic, and a delightful person to know .... he is car, rugby, and airplane mad, and drives (amongs other things) a right hand drive mini!

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