Copyright politico
Duplessy isn’t the first MP to try and sober up French politics. In May, Green Party leader Cyrielle Chatelain suggested banning alcohol in parliament in the evenings. Arthur Delaporte, a Socialist MP who heads the association that manages the National Assembly’s eateries, said prices in the bar had increased, but if alcohol is excluded from expense claims for lawmakers, then the same rule should apply to “all companies for it to be acceptable.” That, he added, would “cause a stir among lawyers.” Alcohol sales in the lower house of parliament’s bar generated around €100,000 in revenue last year (although there was a pause of around three months in legislative business after the dissolution of parliament). French lawmakers might want to ask their Belgian colleagues for tips about non-alcoholic debates. Beer and wine have been banned in the Belgian federal parliament’s cafeteria since May.
