304 WINE LAW beverages, the excessive consumption of which is harmful to health. For this reason, the legislative framework for collective wine advertising must allow the promotion of wine-growing regions through the characteristics of the different regions. The same is true for wine tourism advertising, as well as all communications that would evoke the socio-cultural aspects of wine, without, however, being its main object (II). Finally, we will discuss the difficulties that all players in the wine industry must overcome when they want to promote wine in France (III.). In view of the applicable texts, wine promotion is nothing more than a communication that could have the effect of encouraging the consumption of an alcoholic beverage. As such, any communication or promotional advertising must scrupulously respect a relatively rigid legal framework. I. THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES’ EVOLUTION OF THE HYGIENISM EMPHASIS CONCERNING THE WINE INDUSTRY The origin of hygienism in France dates back to the middle of the 19th century when a law, passed on 23 January 1873, aimed at suppressing public drunkenness and combating excessive alcoholism. As discussed above, there was an initial common agreement between the hygienism policy and the wine industry; however, over the past thirty years, this relationship has deteriorated into one of opposition, even rivalry, in part through a toughening of the policy, the basis of which has been criticised in the specialised press13. The Evin law of 10 January 1991 (I.1.) reinforced the stricter policy. Nevertheless, wine is an agricultural product with strong cultural, territorial and symbolic roots, which go far beyond its sole economic weight, contrary to what its detractors may claim, which is why it should not be defined solely as a drink with an alcohol content (I.2.). I.1. From unrestricted communications to a stricter framework for wine advertising The democratisation of wine consumption ended with the First World War and the “Pinard des poilus”, which became the “wine of victory”, the drink thus 13 J. Dupont, “Agnès Buzyn against the wine industry: the dictatorship of hygiene”, 2018, 17 February, available in www.lepoint.fr.
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