Paris has deemed that the hoi polloi will not be getting a buzz on at its 2024 Olympics—but there's a notable exception to its booze ban, and that is the folks in the VIP section. As the Guardian reports, VIPs can swill champagne to their hearts' content under something of a loophole in Evin's Law, which passed in 1991 and bans the sale and distribution of alcohol in "stadiums, physical education rooms, gymnasiums." The exception to the rule, as USA Today reports, is areas that fall under "catered hospitality"—i.e., the VIP suites. France did have the option to seek an exception for the ticketed masses but chose not to because, as a Paris 2024 rep says, "Such an exemption would have required a change in the law for an event the size of the Games."
The move isn't without precedent, notes USA Today: The 2022 men's World Cup in Qatar also limited alcohol sales to VIPs, and the last Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo, also banned alcohol—though that was because of the COVID pandemic and kind of a moot point because fans weren't permitted. But no worries this fall for fans at the perhaps more raucous 2023 Rugby World Cup in France: Organizers have applied for and received the alcohol exception. (More 2024 Paris Olympics stories.)
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