France, Feb. 8 -- "I'm not anti-alcohol, I just want more tolerance," says journalist and writer Claire Touzard, who stopped drinking in 2020 and later published a best-selling bookabout her experiences.
"It's a norm to drink in France. And if you don't fit in, there's suspicion. 'Are you anti-French? Do you have psychiatric issues?' We don't like people who don't drink because they disturb the French party."
Touzard grew up in a family of bon vivants where alcohol, especially wine, had a very positive image. After all, it wasn't until 1956 that the French government finally banned wine in school canteens, and even then it was only for the under-14s.
At the height of her drinking, she was downing a bottle and several beers a day.She deci...