The French have always cultivated an image of moderation when it comes to alcohol use, but researchers say that more French teens are binge drinking like their British and American counterparts.

The Times of London reported Sept. 14 that while the average French teen is drinking less overall, 9.6 percent told Interministerial Mission Against Drugs and Dependency researchers that they had gotten drunk at least 10 times in the past year, up from 6.6 percent in the previous year's survey. That's still lower than the binge-drinking rate in the U.K., but is sounding alarms among French health officials.

"Nearly one young person in two -- 46 per cent -- says that they drank more than five glasses of alcohol on a single occasion in the last 30 days: this type of consumption corresponds to the Anglo-Saxon notion of binge-drinking," the report noted.

"More and more kids are drinking strong alcohol and they have increasingly abusive conduct," noted French alcoholism specialist Audrey Schmidt. "When you ask them about it, they are not aware that they have a problem. They have no idea of abuse and dependence. Usually, they are drawn into drinking with others because it's fun and against the rules."

Some schools in France have reported more students getting drunk during the school week or showing up intoxicated in class. Some small towns have imposed curfews to prevent youth rowdiness.

"It's true, everyone's getting smashed more often, especially at weekends," said Julie, 16, a student in Paris. "The girls are boozing like the boys, though they prefer alcopops and wine while the boys are more into spirits." Antoine Lassarat, 20, agreed. "There are quite a lot of guys who are drinking a lot -- to the point of vomiting. The girls usually just get happy. The boys drink Martini, La Manzana, Vodka-Apple. The girls tend to go for the alcopops."

Researchers urged that regulators take a "close look" at alcopops and their marketing, noting that alcopops and beer were the most popular drinks among French 17-year-olds.