It sounds like a quintessentially French problem: rogue cocktail parties. Over the past year, France has seen a growing trend in large unlicensed, outdoor gatherings organized through Facebook — and attended by thousands of young drinkers — popping up across the country. Now, as alcohol abuse continues to rise among French youth, the recent death of a reveler has prompted the government to try to find a way to keep the parties safe without shutting them down completely.
Called apéros géants, or giant aperitifs, after the traditional pre-dinner drink (although attendees drink whatever they bring), the pop-up parties are often anonymously planned and — since they have no permit from local authorities — illegal. To date, nearly 60 have taken place in public parks around France, with organizers competing to see which cities can draw the largest crowds. (See pictures of the Champs-Elysées going green.)
But the party turned tragic in mid-May, when a 21-year-old man attending a 10,000-person apéro in the western city of Nantes took a fatal fall from a bridge after reportedly consuming a large amount of alcohol. Another 57 people at that party were hospitalized for excessive alcohol consumption.
Full story: In France, Drinking Parties Draw Government Regulation – TIME