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<\/p>\nVillages f\u00eates are often held in honour of the local patron saint in France but the behaviour of participants is increasingly unholy, according to officials.<\/p>\n
Drunkenness, brawls and even knife crime are commonplace at rural f\u00eates where alcohol is generally served until 2am, including to under-age adolescents, they say. <\/p>\n
Rural authorities now want to clamp down in an effort to restore order.<\/p>\n
Take, for instance, the Ard\u00e8che d\u00e9partement in the south, where police have already intervened 15 times at village f\u00eates so far this summer, mostly to break up fights between inebriated youths.<\/p>\n
Sophie Eliz\u00e9on, the local prefect, who is the interior ministry representative in the d\u00e9partement, has responded by announcing a ban on the sale of alcohol after midnight at f\u00eates until the end of August. She said the move was requested by some local mayors fed up with chaotic scenes in quaint villages as revellers from surrounding areas binge-drink until the early hours.<\/p>\n
Eliz\u00e9on denounced \u201cnumerous acts of violence \u2026 at patronal f\u00eates and other big festive gatherings \u2026where brawls against a background of alcohol consumption have required the intervention of the forces of law and order and during which minors have had access to alcoholic drinks\u201d.<\/p>\n
But her decision has infuriated other mayors who want to maintain the traditional 2am closing time for stands selling alcohol at f\u00eates. They say the stand-holders, mostly local associations, will lose revenue if they are forced to close two hours earlier.<\/p>\n
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Revellers at the F\u00eate des Bouviers in Loriol-sur-Drome, southern France<\/p>\n
ALAMY<\/p>\n
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The issue is an additional difficulty for the organisers of the 10,000 or so f\u00eates held every year in France<\/a>, who are already struggling to find volunteers and to cope with growing rules and regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe mustn\u2019t penalise everyone because of a few problems that we\u2019ve had at f\u00eates since the start of the summer,\u201d said S\u00e9bastien Pradier, chairman of the Association of Rural Mayors in the Ard\u00e8che. \u201cOtherwise, associations are going to die.\u201d<\/p>\n Sports clubs, cultural associations and f\u00eate organisers can generate hundreds and sometimes even thousands of euros from a drinks stand.<\/p>\n
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