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New Year's Eve in France: Survey Finds Drinking Widespread and Driving Plans Up, Raising Road-Risk Alarm

Prévention Routière urges partygoers to plan a sober ride home to curb alcohol-related crashes.

Overview

  • The group’s 2025 barometer reports 79% plan to drink on 31 December, averaging 3.2 drinks.
  • About 26% expect to use a car that night, up from 21% in 2024, with 50.1% going out versus 41% last year due to a midweek réveillon.
  • Overall exposure to the alcohol-and-driving issue rises to 45% of people affected for themselves or their circle, up five points year over year.
  • Knowledge gaps persist, with 68% proposing inadequate ways to get home and 47% unaware of how long it takes to eliminate one drink.
  • Official ONISR figures underscore the stakes: 3,432 road deaths in 2024, 29% with an alcoholized driver—rising to 48% at night—and an estimated 18-fold increase in fatal-responsibility risk when drunk.