France, a country whose very image includes glasses of wine, is now drinking more beer than wine.
A century ago, a decade ago, it would have seemed impossible but over the past few years the numbers have shifted little by little, and the final figures for 2025 show that France consumed 22 million hectoliters of wine and 22.1 million of beer.
Wine consumption has been falling in France, and the rest of the world, for some years now; in France, it’s fallen 37% over the past 30 years. Fewer people take alcohol with their meals or drink wine every day. At the same time, beer, and especially craft beers, have spread from their traditional home in northeastern France to other parts of the country.
One note to keep in mind: The French ministry of health advises that people should drink no more than two glasses of wine a day or 10 per week; in 1950, the advice was to limit drinking to “less than one liter per meal.”
Image: Benoît Prieur/ Wikimedia
I believe that should read ‘million hectolitres’.
Noted and corrected. Thanks!