How do you compare to new regional drinking stats for France?

People in south-west France drink the most alcohol of anyone in France, but people overall drink much less now than in previous years, a new official report reveals.

The most recent barometer on the issue from health authority Santé publique France (SPF), released on January 23, shows drinking figures by region up to 2021 (latest figures available).

It shows long-term trends in drinking habits in France, and states that there has been “a very marked drop in daily consumption has declared itself over the course of the past couple of decades”. In the year 2000, 62.6% of people drank every week, while in 2021, this had dropped to 39%.

Daily drinking

The national average of people who drink daily is 8%, SPF said, but the report also highlighted considerable “regional disparities”:

• Occitanie: 11% (the highest proportion of daily drinkers among 18-75 year-olds)
• Nouvelle-Aquitaine: 10.2%
• Pays-de-la-Loire: 9.7%
• Centre-Val-de-Loire: 8.4%
• Hauts-de-France: 6.8%

Alcohol consumption was also lower in 2021 in the French overseas departments and territories of French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Reunion. All had an estimated daily rate of 5%.

Binge-drinking regions

Binge-drinking - defined as the consumption of at least six glasses of alcohol on a single occasion, and termed alcoolisation ponctuelle importante (API) by SPF - is largely stable among men, but is on the increase among women aged over 35, the report said.

The proportion of women reporting having at least one session of binge-drinking in the year has risen from 21.4% to 23% from 2017 to 2021, and the proportion reporting binge-drinking at least once per month has risen from 7.6% to 8.6% in the same time.

As a result, said SPF, “the implementation of preventive measures to reduce the risks associated with alcohol consumption [is] necessary”.

The French average for binge-drinking at least once a month in 2021 was 16.5%, SPF said, with five regions above that. These were:

• The Pays-de-la-Loire region, which had the most-common binge-drinking at 22.6%
• Brittany followed just after with 21.6%
• French Guiana came in third with 19.2%
• Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with 17.3%
• Bourgogne-Franche-Comté was fifth, with 16.9%.

Alcohol consumption is linked to around 41,000 deaths a year in France, and is one of the main risk factors for premature death, SPF has said.

Figures from recent years have repeatedly shown that drinking is declining, however. People in France are drinking much less wine, and alcohol-free cocktails have grown in popularity.

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