Water services in France

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Free water, by law, in France

Anywhere in France that serves you a meal at a table has to give you drinking water at no charge. A 1967 decree counts ordinary water as part of the cover, alongside the bread and the cutlery, and since 1 January 2022 the anti-waste law has also required the menu or a visible sign to say so. Asking for une carafe d'eau is not asking for a favour, and it does not appear on the bill.

The same law reaches past the table. Buildings open to the public are required to install drinking water fountains, which is why they keep turning up in stations, libraries and sports halls where there was nothing a few years ago.

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