Duty & Customs

Prepare to think the unthinkable! The public finances in France are in such a poor condition that the government in Paris is reported to be considering an increase in its taxes on wines and other alcoholic drinks. Not that the charge — which if introduced would be by way of a form of excise duty — would be at anything like the levels to which wine bibbers are accustomed in the United Kingdom. Monsieur Raffarin's administration is considering a rate of around three pence on each bottle. But this modest charge has provoked howls of outrage from the domestic wine...