For some, it might be hard to believe that French kids were not only allowed, but encouraged, to drink wine at school. In a world where adults are warned about the dangers of alcohol, and the sale of booze is not permitted to minors, it might sound like the “fact” was made up.
Thankfully, there are ways to verify. And a site called “Snopes” is one of them. It’s dedicated to separating fact from fiction and has a skilled team behind the scenes that know exactly how to do this. Bored Panda decided to do a little dig to see what Snopes says about French children and fermented grapes…
It turns out that the little ones were in fact allowed to enjoy some wine with their school meal, and many were fully encouraged to drink at home too.
“According to various reliable sources the rumor was true and until 1956 French children attending school could be served wine on their lunch breaks,” reads the Snopes site. "For instance, France 3, a French public television channel, shared a video on its Facebook profile with a caption ‘After the Second World War and until 1956, red wine was served in school canteens! And that surprised no one!’”
Snopes cites a Public Sénat article as saying "at that time, it was a common practice to see children consuming wine." The piece goes on to explain that the government addressed the issue of alcohol in school canteens in 1956.
“For the first time, a significant measure is adopted. Now no child under 14 is allowed to drink wine at the table,” reads the article, which has been translated from French into English. “A real revolution is underway in the fight against drunkenness in schools.”
That same article reveals that, while nowadays, parents might send their kids to school with some water or juice, back then the folk would fill a flask of wine mixed with water and give it to their children to take to school. It was all part of getting them accustomed to the taste of fine French wine from a young age...
It would only be in 1981 that a blanket ban on alcohol in schools finally came into effect. Snopes quotes French newspaper Le Parisien in its fact-checking endeavors. "According to the terms of the circular of September 3, 'water is the only hygienic drink recommended at the table,'" it read.
France isn’t the only wine-producing country with a controversial history when it comes to the provision of alcohol. South Africa is home to the Cape Winelands. And back in the day, it was not unusual for farmworkers to be paid in wine instead of money.
Known as the “dop system,” dop being Afrikaans slang for liquor, it created not only dependence on booze by some, but also a whole generation of babies with fetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD). Long after the system was abolished, the country still has the highest rate of FASD in the world.
