2023-12-16 06:00:00
During a test operation, out of 42 establishments visited, only one refused the sale of alcohol to customers under 18, reveals a study by the association, which announces that it will soon take new legal action.
Almost systematically, drinking establishments do not respect the ban on the sale of alcohol to minors. These are the alarming conclusions of a study unveiled Tuesday December 12 by Association Addiction France. During a test operation, out of 42 establishments visited this summer in Nantes and six other municipalities in Loire-Atlantique, only one business refused the sale of alcohol to customers under 18 years old.
In Nantes, Ancenis, Clisson, Vallet, Blain, Héric, Les Touches and Nort-sur-Erdre, the operations of “mystery shoppers» all took place in the same way: under the attentive gaze of a doctoral student in sociology, two minors sit down at a table, order “beers, pastis or mojito-type cocktails», are served, pay then claim an emergency and leave the establishment without having consumed. At the end of these tests, among the 42 bars, cafes and fast food restaurants, only one did not violate article L. 3342-1 of the Public Health Code.
“You say to yourself ‘she’s 15’ and no she’s 20”
In the majority of cases, the sale of alcohol to young people took place without checking the identity card, a verification provided for by legislation, which is however not ignored by waiters and bar managers, observes the association, which collected testimonies from some of them. “The older you get, the harder it gets. You say to yourself ‘she’s 15’ and no she’s 20. It’s super hard, anyway, as we say, if there’s even the slightest doubt, it’s the card. No card, no alcohol“, for example declared the manager of a Nantes bar caught at fault.
Association Addiction France regrets a “feeling of déjà vu“. In 2021, a study carried out in the departments of Loire-Atlantique and Finistère has already revealed that nine out of ten stores did not respect the ban on the sale of alcohol to minors. In July 2023, the association filed a complaint against four Auchan and Leclerc stores in the Nantes region and announced today that it “will take similar actions very soon» against 20 other supermarkets and grocery stores after findings of non-compliance with regulations in Nantes, Angers and Rennes in the fall of 2023.
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“It is regrettable that we end up having to take the brands to court so that they deign to respect a law, introduced to protect young people», Notes Bernard Passet, the president of Association Addiction France, whose study considers several avenues to strengthen the application of the legislation, including the establishment of regular checks in establishments and the strengthening of legal sanctions.
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