Watch: French President Macron slammed for downing a bottle of beer in 17 seconds

French President Emmanuel Macron was filmed downing a bottle of beer with Toulouse's rugby players after they won the domestic league last Saturday (June 17). President Macron is now facingcriticism for encouraging binge drinking. The video, which went viral on social media, showed President Macron being handed a bottle of Corona in Toulouse's changing room after the end of the game at the Stade de France in Paris.

After being urged to down it in one, Macron drained the bottle in 17 seconds to cheers and whoops from the Toulouse coaching staff and players.

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The criticism

Macron faced criticism for encouraging binge drinking. Taking to Twitter on Sunday, Greens party MP Sandrine Rousseau tweeted, "Toxic masculinity in political leadership in one image."

Arthur Delaporte, a spokesperson for the Socialist party in parliament, said that a president should not do that. "Fifty years of public health policy against excessive consumption of alcohol, binge-drinking... the message clearly hasn't worked," Delaporte said, the news agency AFP reported on Monday.

Bernard Basset from the charity Association Addictions France told the BFM channel on Monday that President Macron had a responsibility as a role model in terms of setting a healthy example for behaviour.

"In this case, he's associating sport, parties and the consumption of alcohol in a context of virile peer pressure where everyone drinks a bit too much," Basset added.

Speaking to the same channel, doctor and addiction specialist William Lowenstein said, "It's inappropriate. You could do it, but not in front of the cameras."

Macron reminded of his previous remark about drinking

Macron is a keen sports fan and is well known for his locker-room visits of French sports teams. But like most French presidents, he is frequently seen with a glass of wine in hand.

Citing the French health ministry, AFP reported that even though alcohol consumption has fallen in France in the last five decades, around 49,000 deaths are caused by intoxicants each year, and excessive consumption is one of the principal causes of hospital admissions.

Liberation newspaper, which is a critic of Macron, reminded the president of his words in 2018 during an event. "There is a public health scourge which is young people binge-drinking on spirits or beer, but it's not with wine," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

(With inputs from agencies)

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