In a bid to help stretched police officers in the seaside town of Saint-Malo, the fine for being “drunk and disorderly” has nearly doubled from €150 (£133) to €270 (£240) as of January 1.
The ‘extra’ €120 (£107) slapped on will be used to cover police costs linked to the needless arrests, Guillaume Loiseau, a local official in charge of public security, told French media.
Although Britons weren’t blamed for the loutish behaviour, they could be swept up as ferries from Portsmouth as well as Bournemouth via Jersey travel to the French town.
The security official said that at least two police officers were needed to drive a drunk person to a local hospital and then back to the police station, where most are held overnight in a so-called drunk tank to sober up.
Mr Loiseau added: “This takes up more than one hour of their time and costs the town some €12,000 (£10,000) a year in transport and overtime costs.
“Enough is enough. From now on, heavy drinkers must pay for their actions.
“Drunk people can be violent, they often start fights and disturb public order. The new fine will help make people more aware of their responsibilities as citizens. Locals who know how to hold their drink shouldn’t have to pay for those who don’t.
“Police should be patrolling the streets and protecting locals, not looking after people who are drunk and incapable. It’s a waste of their time.”
Some locals, however, are outraged by the new fine, which they have threatened to ignore.
Saint-Malo locals Jacques and Philippe were outraged.
Philippe told Europe 1 radio: “It’s ridiculous. We can’t go out anymore – we’ll just have to buy a pack of beer and stay at home. They can’t stop us from drinking.”
Jacques added: “A guy who is way over the legal alcohol limit and is going crazy should be fined, that’s understandable. But there are limits. One day I was out walking my dog and I was fined for being drunk and disorderly because I’d had one drink! That’s extortion!
“If I’m fined again I just won’t pay.”
In 2017 a total of 78 people were arrested by Saint-Malo police in 2017 for being drunk and disorderly according to Mr Loiseau.