Health Minister Agnes Buzyn admitted on Thursday that no discussion of a Dry January (known as mois sans alcool in French), initially set for 2020, would be held until a ministerial health prevention committee meeting in February. Anti-addiction campaigners denounced the U-turn, which they blamed on intense lobbying from the ANEV group of lawmakers from France's numerous wine-growing regions. But Macron - who once proclaimed "I drink wine at lunch and dinner!" - reportedly told winemakers in the Champagne region earlier this month that they had nothing to worry about. The French health ministry already sponsors a smoke-free November to raise awareness over the risks of tobacco.

Source: The Local November 21, 2019 14:26 UTC