The Agricultural Show is “a popular festival”, “not a festival” of beer, remind the organizers

Joy and a little too much beer. Three days before the closing of the Paris Agricultural Show, its organizers welcomed, Thursday, March 2, a “beautiful edition” 2023, while calling to preserve this “great popular festival” excesses of alcohol. Because clusters of young people get drunk there in the morning and exhibitors find that “it’s getting worse”. Totally drunk or aggressive, about thirty people “were taken out of the living room” since Saturday.

“We’re not in denial. We started to see good-natured booze get a little tougher last year, and we’ve taken action”, reports Arnaud Lemoine, director of the National Center for Agricultural Exhibitions and Competitions (Ceneca), at the origin of the event. The number of security guards “virtually doubled compared to last year” and stalls selling beer or liqueurs were asked not to offer tasting glasses. Similarly, bottles of wine must be sold closed and cannot be uncorked on site.

“This fair is a popular, family celebration, and must remain so. We are not a festival”, emphasizes Arnaud Lemoine. To help, “thirsters”, equipped with water bottles, criss-cross the living room, and the Ceneca will make breathalyzers available on Saturday. Exhibitors fear a worsening of the situation this weekend.