French police to fine "Le binge drinkers"22/06/2008
Paris police have imposed an acohol ban in the park surrounding the Eiffel Tower because it has become a drunken "battlefield".
Selling or drinking alcohol is now forbidden from 4pm to 7am in the Champ-de-Mars, the green area around the tower leading up to the Trocadero. Drinkers face a £30 fine, while anyone caught selling alcohol must pay £595.
The French are increasingly worried about the rise of "le binge drinking," particularly among the younger generation, in a country long proud of avoiding Anglo-Saxon "drink-to-get-drunk" culture.
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