French lawmakers overwhelmingly support the bill, a move aimed at reviving social life in small rural communities to make it easier to open bars in the village.
On Monday, with a 156-2 vote, MPS decided to loosen strict restrictions on new bar permits for selling alcohol. The bill still requires Senate approval to become law.
Advocates say change is needed to improve social connection and reduce isolation, but critics have warned of health risks through alcoholism.
France had seen roughly 36,000 falls by 2015 from around 200,000 bars and cafes serving alcohol in the 1960s. Most of the closures were in rural areas.
In France, it is legally required to open bars that sell alcoholic beverages containing hard spirits that contain 18% or more alcohol.
Currently, no new such permissions are permitted, and anyone planning to open a bar will have to wait until an existing drinking place closes to obtain its license.
The new law allows future bar managers for communities with fewer than 3,500 people, and the absence of a bar allows for brand new permissions to be requested without such a wait.
The local mayor will make a final decision on whether to approve or reject such a request.
Congressman Guillaume Casvarian said the “old and outdated legal framework” should be replaced, AFP news agency reported.
Another French Parliament, Fabian di Filippo, explained that he described it as “more than anything, it is a place where people gather in a society where people tend to get very rural and in a society where people tend to get closer to themselves.”
The French Ministry of Health says that alcohol consumption causes approximately 49,000 deaths in the country each year, and describes this as “a major public health issue.”
