Overview

• The French National Assembly approved a law to simplify opening cafés in villages with fewer than 3,500 residents, where such establishments have largely disappeared.
• The legislation removes bureaucratic hurdles for new cafés in villages that currently lack one, extending a 2019 pilot program into permanent law.
• Proponents highlight the importance of cafés as community meeting points that foster social connections in rural areas.
• Critics have raised concerns that the law could lead to increased alcohol consumption, citing public health risks associated with alcohol-related deaths.
• France has 35,000 municipalities, and 31,000 of them fall under the population threshold set by the law, making this a significant step toward addressing rural isolation.