This week, tales of intoxicated behavior in the National Assembly of France made headlines across the country. These reports included claims (and denials) of deputies throwing up in trash cans and members ordering drinks as early as 11 am.
The original reports arose from an article by the French weekly “Le Journal du Dimanche” which carried the headline “Alcohol in the Assembly: when Deputies get intoxicated during debates”.
The article said the bar most associated with the lower house had run out of alcohol, including Get 27, a popular crème de menthe that is frequently combined with a mixer.
Back-and-forth accusations between the right and left-wing parties then began. While some politicians were observed ordering beer at 11 am and rum at 4 pm, one politician was caught puking in a trash can.
One of Macron’s own centrist Renaissance MPs apparently witnessed “a lawmaker so ill, they were carried out by buvette (taproom) workers,”. He said there was non-stop drinking until 3 am.
The MPs in the National Assembly have been tasked with the enormous task of revising the laws intended to change France’s retirement age, a very divisive topic throughout the nation.
The “Journal du Dimanche” reported that alcohol use had clearly decreased during the previous five years, nevertheless few members of the National Assembly could resist the chance to gain some cheap political points.
“We joke that the Insoumis will be more up for it in the evening because they’ll have dropped into the watering hole,” said one source about La France Insoumise (LFI), a well-known left-wing party.
One of the members of the LFI remarked, “that’s part of the rhetoric against” us. “It’s a tried-and-true strategy to paint the adversary as inebriated”. Yet compared to their LFI counterparts, “I notice more Les Républicains, right-wing, liberal conservatives lawmakers, drinking.”
The same publication also emphasized how the politicians’ preferred beverages varied by generation, noting it’s “wine for the older ones, more beer and cocktails/spritz for the younger deputies, but not so much strong stuff, like whisky.”
“I’ve always seen alcohol-related incidents,” said another, “it was worse 25 years ago.”
One participant cited the National Assembly’s nighttime hours as the cause, while another cited the present, intensely partisan debate. “It can happen that you go for a drink to relieve the pressure when you’re shut in for two weeks under a constant state of stress”.
But, a Green Party member had the final word:
“Whatever you do, don’t close the buvette”. He continued, “In a tumultuous debate, it’s a safe space away from political scrapping where we can breathe easy for a while. I like going there to chat with my counterparts in Macron’s party.”
