HIC...

[NormanH]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/25/english-and-scottish-get-drunk-most-often-25-nation-survey-finds

Certainly true of the ones around here [6]

[NickP]

While it may be true that people are drinking more in the pandemic. I would think that the "writer" and I use the term lightly as it's in the Guardian, has never travelled much. I worked all over Europe and indeed spent a lot of time in Eastern European and Scandinavian countries, where falling over drunkenness was fairly common. In Riga, you had to step over the drunks first thing in the morning when we left the hotel to go to work. Although I must say drunkenness is not that noticeable in France to a big degree.???

[idun]

I cannot say I have never been drunk, I have, although, most would still appear sober whilst I was staggering, and that was A VERY LONG TIME AGO when I was nowt but a lass.

I wouldn't say I don't drink either, say 4 or 5 units a year, or there abouts.

France and drinking is a rum old do, if you will excuse the pun. We would have 'pots' and many of the women would pass on the wine, taking orange juice etc instead.

AND yet, these ladies, who were refusing alcohol  in public would smell of it when they dropped their kids off after lunch time. And some would smell even more of it when they picked them up from school at 4.30.

I could smell it, along with the stench of their 'clops' because I have never smoked and hardly ever drink.

And the men, well, would drink a lot at home, and spirits to boot.

So how does this research work, as if someone gets blind drunk at home, well, they sleep it off on the floor, settee or bed....... and no one knows it is happening.

I do think that where we like to drink is a prime factor to be considered.

The bars in our village closed early, but were open very early morning and plenty of blokes would boire un canon along with their expresso. What a way to start the day.

So this, well, each country is very different.

Alcohol sales in France please in comparison to other european countries, both from retail and bars. Because that is one thing about booze, no one buys it and chucks it, like they would a lettuce that is going off in the fridge.

[Lehaut]

With one of each nationality in our household, we have both bases covered!

[alittlebitfrench]

The peeps that did the survey should go to a French Lidl when opens.

The first in the queue are blokes buying booze.

There is one that buys a bottle of Ricard everyday.

[idun]

I had probably been in France for about 8 years when we were on holiday in England and I called in at a friend's home. She was saying that she could buy bottles of wine in France for, well, 2 or was it 3ff a big bottle.

I said that I have never seen anything at such a low price. So when I got home, I did a recce at my local supermarkets and lo and behold, you could, but NOT with the 'wine', but round the corner, both cheapo bottles and plastic barrels where people could bring their own bottles and fill them, even cheaper[:-))]. The floor was quick slick with spilt red wine too, where I suppose people had been trying to fill these bottles to the very very top and it had debordered.

That was my friend for you, trust her to find such stuff. And that was the stuff you'd see the sans abri or beggars quaffing in the streets.

And talking of beggars. When I first got to France and it was my first winter in the Alpes, there was someone begging and I gave him money. Never again. About half an hour later when I was in a mini market getting some bits of shopping he was there buying booze. I have never given money again, but always give food to those begging.