Drop in alcohol consumption in France driven by wine, study says

A fall in wine consumption in France drove a drop in the sales of alcohol in 2023, according to a new report.

A study from the Observatoire Français des Drogues et des Tendances Addictives (OFDT), found sales volumes of pure alcohol dropped 3.8% last year on 2022 to six million hectolitres of pure alcohol.

The dip was attributed primarily to a 4.2% drop in wine sales volumes year-on-year, which came out at to 5.42 litres of pure alcohol per person over the age of 15.

Spirits sales volumes were not far off either, falling 3.9% to 2.19 litres per legal drinking inhabitant.

Beer sales volumes saw the smallest decline of 2.6% to 2.6 litres per person.

Wine sales still made up 52% of total alcoholic drinks sales volumes in France in 2023, with beer sales accounting for 25%, and spirits comprising 21%.

Similarly to previous years, beer sales have continued to exceed spirit sales, proving a consumer “shift towards beers”.

Adult alcohol consumption in France has also dropped 13% from 2021 to 2023, and 7.5% on 2022 figures, the study said. For 17-year-olds, daily consumption has dropped 31% between 2017-2022, while monthly drinking has dropped 14%.

In a statement, the OFDT said the results showed a “reconfiguration of the way in which the French consume alcohol”.

It added: “Consumption is less often daily and more often marked by occasional heavy drinking behavior, while consumption preferences are increasingly often focused on beers and less often on wine.”

In an interview with Just Drinks earlier this week, Nathalie Estribeau, the export director at French wine cooperative Vignobles Foncalieu, noted that “consumption habits are changing rather quickly”, especially in Old World wine regions like France.

“This year, I think we’ve only got 25% of red wines in our mix, so we’ve been able to adapt,” she said. “But this is one of the biggest challenges, I think for the French market, it’s red wines.”

Some 73% of the wines exported by the group this year have been white and rosé wines, a slight hike from 67% in 2023.

Just Drinks