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Article Provided by The Times

Two campaigners in Paris are calling out some bars that serve “une pinte” that is only 375ml instead of 500ml, which is what the French consider to be a pint

David Chazan, Paris

Sunday March 23 2025, 8.27pm GMT, The Times

Alcohol

If you’ve ever felt aggrieved that your pint wasn’t filled to the brim you may sympathise with drinkers in France who have named and shamed some 300 bars which they accuse of serving short measures.

They claim the bars serve une pinte that is only 375ml instead of 500ml, which is what the French consider to be a pint. An imperial pint in the UK is 568ml, but in the US a pint is 473ml.

Two Parisian beer-lovers have started an online campaign against bars that charge for une pinte but give customers 25 per cent less than promised, using thick glasses that appear to contain more than they do.

The pair, who requested anonymity, became aware of the practice when they poured une pinte into a measuring glass and found that it was short.

“Report your pint” is calling for more transparency

Their campaign is called balance ta pinte or “report your pint” — a pun on the French equivalent of MeToo, which is called balance ton porc or “report your pig”.

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Drinkers can flag up bars at fault by filling out a form on their website. Up to 50 cases are being reported each day in cities across France, including Paris, Bordeaux, Lyons and Toulouse.

“The aim isn’t to punish the bars, but simply to to encourage more transparency,” the campaigners told Le Figaro. “It’s starting to pay off. A bar that was often reported has now changed its glasses to ones that contain 500 ml. It’s a first victory.”

Some bar staff appear unaware of the practice. “I use the glasses I’m given. I don’t check how much they contain when I’m pulling a pint,” a barman in one Paris establishment reported for using glasses containing only 375ml said.

Systematic short measures may not be confined to France. Drinkers across the UK are also being short-served, according to a survey last May.

Tests by Trading Standards, the consumer watchdog, found that more than two-thirds of beer and wine served in British pubs and bars was less than promised. Some 86 per cent of beer was short-measured, and 43 per cent of wine.