In its latest move of classic French one-upmanship, Paris is installing swanky new drinking fountains around the city to provide fizzy water on tap, for free.

That's right, never again will locals or visitors have to settle for uncarbonated water. Because in France, Perrier isn't a luxury, it's a right. And while it's easy to dismiss this as superfluous, the government says its reason is pure. It hopes to reduce plastic waste by providing fizzy water fans with stations to re-fill, rather than having to keep buying new bottles.

The fountains have already been tested in various spots around the city since 2010, receiving plenty of positive feedback over the years, unsurprisingly.

Parisians test the new sparkling water fountains when they were first trialled in 2010 Credit: Getty

Officials have now committed to installing at least one fountain - known locally as a “La Petillante”, which translates to 'she who sparkles' - in each of Paris' 20 arrondissements, or neighbourhoods.

It is part of the capital's public water supplier Eau de Paris’ efforts to wean Parisians off their bottled water habit. At last count, the French were the world's eighth biggest consumers of it, according to statistics from the Earth Policy Institute.

And while Paris may be celebrating its new free fizzy water, France has been stamping down on carbonated drinks of the unhealthy variety in a bid to address obesity.

In 2012 it slapped a tax on sweet fizzy beverages, and this year a decree made it illegal for restaurants to sell unlimited amounts of it at a fixed price or for free.

Fancy making use of Paris' sophisticated new fountains? You're in good company.

This year, visitor numbers to the French capital hit a 10-year high, according to the Regional Tourism Authority (CRT).







Hoteliers in the Paris region registered 16 million guests for the first half of this year – the highest number for the same period in the past decade – while visitors to the city and the surrounding Île-de-France region rose by 14.6 per cent.