Alcohol — France
What travelers need to know about alcohol in France. What is legal at home can be a serious crime here — each rule links to its official source.
Alcohol in France: restricted — there are real limits travelers must follow.
France has no national street-drinking ban - but Paris bans drinking on public streets from 7pm to 7am across dozens of named areas, and beer and wine count. Licensed cafe and restaurant terraces are exempt.
Anyone found drunk in a public place anywhere in France may be taken into police custody at their own expense and held until they sober up (Code de la sante publique art. L3341-1, version en vigueur 27 May 2021). Breach of the Paris arrete is enforced as a contravention under the Code penal; the exact fine was not confirmed from primary text this run. Separately, selling alcohol to a minor is punished by a 7,500 EUR fine (art. L3353-3).
§ Prefecture de Police de Paris, arrete n. 2025-01721 du 30 decembre 2025, published in Recueil des actes administratifs special n. 75-2025-783 (31 December 2025). Legal basis quoted in the arrete: CGCT art. L2512-13. Supporting articles read via Legifrance/DILA: CGCT L2212-2, Code de la sante publique L3321-1, L3341-1 and L3353-3 (all version en vigueur).Verified Sep 8, 2026