[Baclofen in the treatment of alcohol addiction : a French saga].

In 2018, France granted an approval to baclofen for the treatment of alcohol-dependency. It is the culmination of a long saga that began in 2005 with the publication of the personal case of Dr Ameisen, followed in 2008 by a public book which achieved great success and an important echo in the French population and in the media. The weakness of scientific data contradicting peremptory positions on its effectiveness has generated strong tensions between supporters of scientific medicine and activists supporting baclofen. Indeed, the data from published clinical trials do not confirm a high level of efficacy. Nevertheless, baclofen has allowed new patients to consult in the hope of an improvement. This long story confirms the need to evaluate therapeutics according to scientifically validated experimental protocols in order to avoid the risks of deviance.