04-05-2011, 16:19
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The Invisible Woman
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Join Date: Jun 2003
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Age: 73
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Absinthe in France: Legalising the 'green fairy'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13159863
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The green, anise-flavoured spirit is associated with many of the country's most famous and esteemed artists and writers - like Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec and Paul Verlaine - but it was banned in France in 1915 for its alleged harmful effect.
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Later, the rule was relaxed, allowing the drink to be sold as long as it was not called absinthe, and instead labelled "a spirit made from extracts of the absinthe plant".
Now the ban is expected to be lifted entirely any day now, after the French Senate voted in favour of the move in mid-April.
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Why now I wondered?
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Absinthe was first made, not in France, but just across the border in the Val-de-Travers region of Switzerland.
And a Swiss judge recently approved a request to give the region exclusive rights to produce it. For the moment, this ruling applies only in Switzerland, which is not a member of the European Union - and so has limited impact.
But because of Switzerland's close ties with the EU, it is possible that the Swiss could seek to extend the ruling across the block.
Producers say that this is what has galvanised the French government to lift the ban now.
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Never tried it myself..is it as bad as it's errr painted?
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