Breathalysers — Check Your Alcohol Level Before Driving

Contralco's Le Ballon is the most widely used chemical breathalyser in France. Each sachet contains a reagent tube, a balloon with a mouthpiece and non-return valve, and individual packaging with traceability. The reagent is chromium-free: it does without the chromium salts used in traditional tests.

It is calibrated to the legal limit of 0.5 g of alcohol per litre of blood (0.25 mg per litre of exhaled air), the limit that applies to fully licensed drivers in France. Drivers on a probationary licence, limited to 0.2 g/l, need a test set to that threshold.

NF-certified (standard NF X 20-702), made in France, single use, 18-month shelf life. Sold individually, it slips into the glove box or first-aid kit and travels in the same parcel as your champagnes.

Since 1 July 2021, every business selling alcohol to take away in France — online shops included — must offer breathalysers for sale and remind customers, at checkout, of the need to self-test before driving (Article L. 3341-4 of the French Public Health Code and the ministerial order of 30 March 2021). That is what Pépites en Champagne does, with this breathalyser and the prevention banner you will see when ordering.

Beyond the obligation, it is a conviction: champagne is for tasting, not for driving. A test costs the price of a coffee and clears up any doubt in a few minutes. Contralco, a family-owned company from Gignac in the Hérault, has been making these tests since 1982; they are also the ones used by the French police.