Binge drinking was once thought to be the exclusive province of young Brits and Americans, but now French adolescents are defying cultural stereotypes and drinking heavily with the intention of getting drunk, too.

The BBC reported Dec. 17 that for some young drinkers, the old culture of sipping a glass of wine or two at a cafe has given way to bingeing. French hospitals have reported alarming increases in the numbers of young people admitted to emergency rooms for alcohol-related problems.

"They start drinking earlier because the family is less cohesive," said Philippe Nuss, a doctor who provides addiction care at St. Antoine Hospital in Paris. "They used to be more strictly controlled by their parents but now they tend to go out and start drinking in groups from the age of about 13 to 16."

The government has responded with a plan to raise the national alcohol-purchase age from 16 to 18 and declaring some parts of Paris "dry areas" where public drinking is prohibited at night.

"We have to fight this bad habit, this growing trend for some Parisians, especially teenagers, to gather outdoors, in public, and drink for hours until they're drunk," said Patrick Bloche, mayor of Paris' 11th Arrondissement.