I'd like some anglo-saxon points of view about a new french law forbidding alcohol for children under 18 ?

I think this new law is a shame: the former law used to forbid to selling of alcoholic beverages to children under 16, but it wasn't applied: everybody could buy and drink any alcohol, anywhere, in any quantity, and drink alcoholic beverages in pubs. When i was 13 I've bought some beer before having a great party, since this first time I used to drink alcohol, in reasonable quantities, sometimes, during parties, in a pub, or in a club. Now I'm 17, and some stores are forbidding me to buy beer, vodka or whiskey! This is a shame, I think the government should not tell us what to do or not. What do you think, as an american, a country where alcohol is forbidden for a long time ago ?