French legislators seek to bring back the bars of the village

Legislators in France have overwhelmingly supported a bill, which makes it easier to open bars in villages, a movement destined to revive social life in small rural communities.

In a vote of 156-2 on Monday, the parliamentarians decided to loosen strict restrictions in the new bar permissions to sell alcohol. The bill still needs an approval of the Senate to become law.

Supporters say that change is necessary to better consolidate social ties and reduce isolation, but critics warn about health risks through alcoholism.

France has seen a strong fall of approximately 200,000 bars and coffees that serve alcohol in 1960 to about 36,000 for 2015. Most closures were in rural areas.

In France, the law requires a type 4 alcohol license to open a bar that sells alcoholic beverages, including hard spirits with more than 18% alcohol.

Currently, new permits of this type cannot be granted, and those who plan to open a bar should wait until an existing drink is closed to acquire their license.

The new legislation would allow possible bars managers in communities with less than 3,500 people and without a bar to request a new permit without such wait.

Local mayors would have the last word about whether to approve or deny such applications.

Legislator Guillaume Kasbrian said that “an old and obsolete legal framework” must be replaced, the AFP news agency reported.

He also cited Fabien Di Filippo, another French deputy, who described the bars as “above all, places for people to join in very rural areas and in a society where people tend to approach themselves.”

The French Ministry of Health says that every year around 49,000 deaths in the country are caused by alcohol consumption, describing this as a “great public health problem.”