To the citizen’s water bottles!

It was a summer day in 2023, in a Breton station. We were going to take a train as a family, our water bottles were dry. Buying a takeaway drink, all in plastic, is out of the question. Head to the station brasserie. Above the counter, I hold out my water bottle with a pitiful smile. ” A Euro ! » replied an exasperated waiter – I shouldn't have been the first to ask for it.

Dear citizen readers, while World Water Day was celebrated on March 22, know that this scene is unworthy of our Republic. This station should be equipped with a free water fountain. This has been the law since… January 2022! In fact, from now on, all establishments welcoming an audience of more than 300 people must provide healthy hydration. The goal: to reduce our collective addiction to plastic bottles.

But it's a long way from drinking water bottles… According to a survey carried out by the No Plastic In My Sea association, 84% of SNCF stations and 88% of the busiest metro and RER stations are not equipped with drinking fountains. water*. As for restaurants and drinking establishments, they are now required to serve tap water to their customers free of charge. And to indicate this incredible possibility visibly, on the map or by display. In a society where generosity no longer flows naturally, the simple right to water is defended drop by drop…