No smoking in France starting September 2007
 

They've finally come up with a date. Now we'll have to see if they have trouble actually making the decree and not polluting it with exceptions.

As much as I would love to see it happen, I'm not holding my breath - if you see what I mean....

-Kevin

I wonder if it'll be like the Welsh Assembly Government who have set a date of April 1st 2007 to ban smoking in Wales, yet have built themselves a smoking shed for the elected members and staff.
However, in building a shed, it has become an enclosed space or building and is therefore subject to the ban! You couldn't make it up!

I suppose that the French will have the same liberal attitude they apply to all their laws, or they'll burn a few sheep and blockade Calais.

That just makes me sad.

They have delayed the implementation for a year to see how it is received. In typical French fashion, the government institutes a law, then the unions, students, uncle Tom Cobbly and all get in a fix, bring the country to a standstill, and the government withdraws the law....This happened recently with the CPE, which basically took away the guarantee of a job for life if employed under the age of 26.

Comparing the CPE law and a no-smoking decree is about the same as comparing a Barbie doll and a pile of cow manure.

The period until implementation is not yet confirmed, but it makes total sense to give at least six months for establishments that really want to install a hermetically sealed room to do so, and for cafés with a tobacco stand to decide if they want to remove it permanently (like the café where 'Amélie' was filmed did) and make more money by putting in extra tables.

It was also mentioned that it is rather a lengthy process to train the enforcement personnel on how to deal with every conceivable situation.

Time will tell.

Le Figaro:3/10/06

Le président de la Confédération des débitants de tabac René Le Pape a dénoncé mardi sur RMC une "mesure extrémiste" et menace d'appeler à la "mobilisation générale et pourquoi pas à nouveau (à) battre le pavé parisien" si le gouvernement ne propose pas des mesures d'aides aux professionnels. Les débitants de tabac réclament "un délai pour la mise en application" et "des mesures d'accompagnement".

Même son de cloche du côté de l'Union des métiers et des industries de l'hôtellerie (UMIH): "nous sommes contre une interdiction totale et nous restons contre une interdiction totale", a expliqué son vice-président Francis Attrazic.

Well i guess this means the end of the French cafe as we know it! Well that's good news to me - now i won't have to leave my cafe with my clothes reeking of smoke or without losing three or so minutes off my life.

(Irish pubs thought the same but they are now booming more than ever after a stringent non-smoking law was enacted and enforced.)

Waring is very right. A couple of years ago the government increased the tax on cigarettes as a measure to discourage smoking. After a typical French strike of a few thousand Tabac sellers ("buralistes") the government caved in as usual and withdrew the measure. Apparently public health was less important than preserving the income of these people.

ps.
By the way this same guy Rene Le Pape was the main instigator of that strike as well:

http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journa...3-10-21-381049

It will be lots of fun to watch.

<b>as posted by Eric_S</b>

<i>Apparently public health was less important than preserving the income of these people.</i>

how about some personal responsibility and not depending on the government to babysit us on every life issue?

Because this is France.

&lt;how about some personal responsibility and not depending on the government to babysit us on every life issue?&gt;

Tell that to the &quot;buralistes&quot;.

And I suppose you are against monitoring dangerous chemicals in water, polluttants in fuel, etc. You just do it all yourself, right?

Vive la France and individual rights!

&gt;comparing a Barbie doll and a pile of cow manure.

In chav cockney rhyming slang barbie doll means a pile of cow dung :P

...and ANOTHER thing - all the Whole Foods stores in our area have stopped selling live lobsters or soft-shell crabs to reduce the painful deaths of these crustaceans. It's OK, the fishermen still sell them to the wharfside markets...

I would say that France should at least be given credit for attempting this which is a lot more than the governments of some localities can say.

As to the &quot;babysitting&quot; issue..sure..we'll be very happy to not babysit you as long as you agree to the following:

when you are dying of a smoking-related illness we will not in any way, shape, or form support your medical bills through higher insurance premiums, etc.

when something happens and you are whining for that nasty big government you supposedly didn't want to come and help you pay for that catastrophe such as a devastating hurricane then please don't get upset when we start laughing at you.

It was sure nice in Spain and Italy last year with the no smoking. The beach in Barcelona was rather smoky. Perhaps they can add to the law and make smoking on public beaches a crime.

It is so sad to see so many young women smoking in Europe, but I guess that is what keeps them skinny.

One thing might make thing changes, and not consideration for non-smoking clients. What is looming on the buralistes, cafe owners, etc, is more legal actions on health issues from employers as a court ruling last August confirmed that employers are responsible for their employees on the workplace, including for health hazards related to second-hand smoke. Gambling house staff recently sued their employers on that ground, whereas that industry has always predicted that a total ban would &quot;kill their business&quot; as people &quot;need&quot; to smoke while gambling....

I am a non-smoker. However I find that professional lobbying against the proposed ban is as legitimate as any other type of lobbying.

In Ireland and Italy, there were severe drops in turnover following the total ban. In France, the bigger, urban establishments will adapt and attract a new clientele. However, some places can't afford to wait for 18-20 months toregain their normal level of business, and I am sure the ban will accelerate the closing down of rural cafes and of the smaller buralistes, which rely heavily on the sales of cigarettes for the rest of their business. When a bar or a cafe is the only business in a village, it is normal that local officials worry...

MissZiegfield,
What makes you sad? That people will have a greater appreciation for a country because while they are trying to enjoy it they can breathe? They can enjoy a country's cuisine without having to put up with the foul stench of cigarette smoke. They can wear contact lenses instead of glasses. Smokers never cease to amaze me. The habit affects everyone around you and detracts from the ability to enjoy simple pleasures. I will go to Greece and Turkey and deal with it. However, I my biggest hope is thatone day smoking will be banned on the planet.