It depends. There's no nationwide ban on drinking alcohol in the street in France, but Paris does apply local restrictions in specific places and at specific times, especially at night in certain areas, or during major events. Nothing about it is uniform across the whole city.
The baseline: it's allowed unless a local order says otherwise
Having a drink in a park, on the riverbank, or at a café terrace isn't a legal problem on its own. Whenever a restriction exists, it always comes from a specific local order, never a national law.
Some Paris neighborhoods have standing orders
The police prefecture restricts takeaway sales and public drinking in several areas of northern and northeastern Paris, with recurring time windows (restricted evening drinking, limited overnight takeaway sales). The exact boundaries shift from one order to the next, so it's worth checking locally rather than trusting a fixed map.
Public drunkenness is punished everywhere
Being visibly drunk in public is an offense in its own right, regardless of any local order: police can take the person to a sobering-up cell, at their own expense.
Parks and gardens have their own rules
The general regulations for Paris's parks and gardens ban drinking alcohol, except at authorized venues inside the park or during events with a specific permit. So technically, a picnic with a bottle of wine on the grass isn't in the clear everywhere.
Big events temporarily change the rules
For Fête de la Musique, Bastille Day, or New Year's Eve, the police prefecture often issues one-off orders: evening takeaway sales shut down, restrictions on certain riverbanks. These are reissued every year, and the exact area covered can vary from one edition to the next.
Heatwaves can trigger a temporary ban too
When hospital emergency rooms are under strain, the prefecture has previously issued orders banning alcohol across the whole of public Paris for a day or two.
Tips
If you spot a notice mentioning a municipal order near a station, a riverbank, or a garden, that's a sign a local restriction applies right there — better to respect it than test the general rule. Outside of those cases, a glass of wine by the river remains a thoroughly ordinary Parisian scene.
