http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/aug/27/foodanddrink.france
I read this article about ‘le binge drinking’ and I rejoiced! This is something I have argued with many a French person on many an occasion. Those French people tended to get on their high horses and claim, (as is often the case, I have found), moral superiority; its that mythical ‘exception française’ cropping up once again!
My most memorable discussion on alcohol consumption in the UK and in France was at a party in Calais. Most people were fairly well oiled and I believe that the conversation arose because a French guy there believed me to be a lot more drunk than I actually was. Since English girls do not have a fantastic reputation in France, I took up this guy on his invitation for an intelligent discussion, to try and defend the British Female. He claimed that there are more alcoholics in England than in France. I have no idea about the statistics of either country; but I looked around me at the gathering, and counted that half of the French punters were alcoholic according to most definitions of the expression. And this reflects my general experience of two years in France – I met more people with alcohol problems during my time there than when living in the UK. It is worth noting that the Pas-de-Calais does actually have alcohol dependency figures that are higher than the national average (for a number of reasons, but this closely correlates with the higher level of unemployment in the North), but I don’t think my experience is unique.
There certainly are alcohol problems in the UK. But finally it is great to see that people are realising that France is not immune to the same societal problems as the rest of Europe. I think the prevailing attitude (particularly among the British middle classes) that France is socially superior to the UK, with its super gastronomy, its family culture, its je ne sais quoi, is beginning to change. Not that either is better, nor perfect, just incredibly different with a few worrying similarities.
I read this article about ‘le binge drinking’ and I rejoiced! This is something I have argued with many a French person on many an occasion. Those French people tended to get on their high horses and claim, (as is often the case, I have found), moral superiority; its that mythical ‘exception française’ cropping up once again!
My most memorable discussion on alcohol consumption in the UK and in France was at a party in Calais. Most people were fairly well oiled and I believe that the conversation arose because a French guy there believed me to be a lot more drunk than I actually was. Since English girls do not have a fantastic reputation in France, I took up this guy on his invitation for an intelligent discussion, to try and defend the British Female. He claimed that there are more alcoholics in England than in France. I have no idea about the statistics of either country; but I looked around me at the gathering, and counted that half of the French punters were alcoholic according to most definitions of the expression. And this reflects my general experience of two years in France – I met more people with alcohol problems during my time there than when living in the UK. It is worth noting that the Pas-de-Calais does actually have alcohol dependency figures that are higher than the national average (for a number of reasons, but this closely correlates with the higher level of unemployment in the North), but I don’t think my experience is unique.
There certainly are alcohol problems in the UK. But finally it is great to see that people are realising that France is not immune to the same societal problems as the rest of Europe. I think the prevailing attitude (particularly among the British middle classes) that France is socially superior to the UK, with its super gastronomy, its family culture, its je ne sais quoi, is beginning to change. Not that either is better, nor perfect, just incredibly different with a few worrying similarities.
A la tienne!
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