Intoxication and the French Revolution
Noelle Plack

"Wine and revolution are key aspects of French national identity and they certainly became intertwined during the upheaval of 1789. Alcohol and its consumption were central to eighteenth-century French society at all levels. The popular classes drank in taverns and wine shops, while elites frequented the grand cafés in Paris and other large cities. Drinking was essentially an act of sociability, a way for people to relax and spend time together. Intoxication did occur, of course, but it was often a by-product of drinking rather than its goal...."

https://ageofrevolutions.com/2016/12/05/intoxication-and-the-french-revolution/