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Dispelling speculation & rumours on a subject of great interest: The French Government's repeal of the Absinthe Ban of 1915... One moment, please!
Dear Absintheurs,
Following domestic activity in Switzerland early last year, La Fée met
with the FFS (Fédération Française des Spiritueux) in Paris.
My summary included:
Quote
“3]
Consider a full repeal of the French 1915 ban as it is out of date and
redundant; with the newer EU directives on spirits proven to be more
than sufficient to protect the consumer and guard production quality and
standards. In fact La Fée Absinthe is sold around the world, as well as
many other French produced Absinthes and is sold in France as ‘Aux
Plantes d’Absinthe’.”
Unquote
It’s great to see that on the Sénat (Upper House) voted and passed (the first stage of):
ARTICLE 136 (document: 4th October 2010) No 27:
"The
law of March 16, 1915 as amended, concerning the prohibition of the
manufacture, wholesale and retail, and the movement of Absinthe and
similar spirits".
SUBJECT
The law of March 16, 1915
prohibits French producers from using the name "Absinthe". They can
only produce and market drinks which meet the definition of Absinthe
under the name "Spirit made with extract of wormwood plants"
Switzerland
intends to file the name "absinthe" as a geographic protected
indication (IPG) in the context of the mutual protection of geographical
directions which is currently under negotiation with the European
Union. In the absence of opposition from Member States, recognition by
the European Union of the "Absinthe" IPG would give Swiss producers the
monopoly on using this term to the detriment of French
producers. However, because of this agreement, it will not be possible
to oppose the sale of Swiss drinks called "Absinthe" in France as this
drink is in conformity with the EU name.
To avoid this competition disadvantage, repeal of the 1915 law is required.
This
repeal has no consequence for the consumer as producing alcoholic
drinks using wormwood (Absinthe) is already governed by EU rules.
Contrary
to rumours that the French Absinthe Ban 1915 has been repealed, we must
advise the French authorities are only at the first stage only of
reviewing the legislation concerned and that only the French Sénat (Upper House) has voted in favour of its repeal so far.
The
legislation now moves to the Assemblée Nationale (Lower House) for its
consideration and vote. Should the Lower House vote in favour of the
repeal, it will then return to the Sénat for a final vote for approval.
France's full recognition of the Green Fairy's return would be a fitting tribute to Absinthe's Renaissance; a journey I have
enjoyed since La Fée returned Absinthe distilling to France in 2000.
We’ll keep you fully informed of any future developments as they evolve.
George Rowley, brand owner
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