Bordeaux braces itself for ‘le binge drinking’

More than 200 police officers are patrolling the banks and a powerful search
light has been installed to ensure that “the Wine Festival does not
rhyme with tragedy,” said Patrick Stefanini, the police chief.

Other French cities like Nantes, Lyon and Lille have already been hit by binge
drinking deaths. But the drownings in Bordeaux have raised questions on how
to tackle what was previously seen as an “Anglo-Saxon blight”
without tainting the city’s global wine reputation.

Tempers have been fraying, with rival councillors almost trading blows this
week after the Socialist opposition claimed not enough was being done to
prevent more deaths.

Mr Juppé responded angrily: “We have not stopped urging moderation,
which has been the case since the Wine Festival first began.”

In a show of good faith, organisers will only serve those who buy a wine
tasting pass and have reduced the size of tasting glasses to 5cl, meaning
participants can drink a maximum of half a wine bottle.

They hope to avoid any accidents by offering free breath tests and free public
transport passes.

Mr Juppé’s press spokesman Nicolas Corne insisted Bordeaux’s age-old wine
traditions had nothing to do with the deaths.

“These young people who get blind drunk don’t do it with wine but spirits
– vodka and other types – and often with synthetic drugs. It has nothing to
do with the small-scale wine tasting we promote,” he told The Daily
Telegraph.

“We have never had a single incident since the festival’s creation.” “Wine
tasting here is cultural, it’s about discovering new tastes, sharing them
and learning how wine is made, not getting legless.”

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes