15m French smokers banned from lighting up in public places
01/02/2007 - 09:27:24
A ban on smoking in French public spaces came into effect today, a change that may alter the image of a country socially defined in part by its smoky cafes.
France’s 15 million smokers will be banned from lighting up in workplaces, schools, airports, hospitals and other “closed and covered” public places.
More than 175,000 agents are to enforce the ban, handing out fines of €67 for smokers and €133 for employers who look the other way.
A ban on smoking in French public spaces came into effect today, a change that may alter the image of a country socially defined in part by its smoky cafes.France’s 15 million smokers will be banned from lighting up in workplaces, schools, airports, hospitals and other “closed and covered” public places.More than 175,000 agents are to enforce the ban, handing out fines of €67 for smokers and €133 for employers who look the other way.
In a year, the ban will extend to cafes and restaurants – sure to be the moment of truth for a certain image of France, where writers such as Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre are remembered with cigarettes dangling from their mouths.
“A world is collapsing,” writer Philippe Delerm wrote in a front-page ode to the cigarette in Le Monde newspaper, referring to the alluring image of the chain-smoking intellectual. “Those were good times. But nobody thought about the collateral damage.”
Statistics – such as 66,000 smoker deaths per year in France – and changing norms are snuffing out the romance along with the cigarette.
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In a year, the ban will extend to cafes and restaurants – sure to be the moment of truth for a certain image of France, where writers such as Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre are remembered with cigarettes dangling from their mouths.“A world is collapsing,” writer Philippe Delerm wrote in a front-page ode to the cigarette in Le Monde newspaper, referring to the alluring image of the chain-smoking intellectual. “Those were good times. But nobody thought about the collateral damage.”Statistics – such as 66,000 smoker deaths per year in France – and changing norms are snuffing out the romance along with the cigarette.
140px The French government has banned the smoking of cigarettes in all public places.
The ban includes no smoking in hospitals, airports, schools, places of employment and any public area that is "closed or covered." Eleven months from now, the ban will include restaurants and cafes.

Some members of France's Parliament are surprised to see how quick the ban was enacted.

"Nobody, not even I, thought a year-and-a-half ago that France would abandon tobacco so fast," said member of Parliament (MP) and an advocate of the prohibiting of smoking, Yves Bur.

Police and other law enforcement agents are required to fine anyone who violates the ban. Fines for smoking in banned areas could be as much as $88.00 USD. Employers who do not enforce the smoking ban could be fined at least $174.00 USD.

At least 15 million people who live in France smoke cigarettes, but a poll conducted by the French government had shown that 76% of the country's population was in favor of the ban. 74% of the population also backs the restaurant and cafe ban to take place in one year.