"You will not see a rider or a driver drink any alcoholic beverage in France. The limit is so low that even one beer will put you over that limit."
That is because France, alongo with most of Europe, has BEER, not "yellowy fizzy drink"
A few years ago my family and I were in Bruges (Brugge, actually, as it's in Flanders and they speak Flemish... OK double Dutch
)
We went to visit a brewery and in his opening welcome the "Master Brewer" explained "if it has less than 5.5% alcohol it's not beer, it's soda pop"
At the end of the tour, we were all entitled to a pint.
So I asked the Beermeister...
..."my boy is 14 BUT he is being educated to the culture of beer, and can already tell a Lager from a Pilsner from a Bock; do you suppose that, for educaitonal reasons, we could..."
"Ah ! - he exclaimed - you do well to educate your son ! Please may I participate in this education!"
And pulled another pint from the draught.
(note: legal drinking age is 16)
PS My son is now 19 and even though he does go out with friends in the evening and returns late (1 - 2 a.m. is not unusual in Rome in the summer)
I have NEVER seen him tipsy - not once !