In 2011, France fully repealed remaining legal restrictions on absinthe, allowing its legitimate return to markets after decades of prohibition rooted in early 20th-century moral panics. The spirit, once linked to artistic bohemia, regained cultural prominence. Its history intertwined with poetry and literature of the decadent and modernist eras, symbolizing creativity, rebellion, and altered states of consciousness.

The legal return of absinthe to French markets in 2011 enabled a cultural reclamation within Francophone poetry and arts. Poets began to explore themes of nostalgia, identity, and the drink's complex history, celebrating its impact on creativity and artistic expression.