The quintessential Parisian street scene of a Gauloises-puffing patron at a street cafe may become a thing of the past under French plans to revive a smoking ban in public places.
Although such a ban was introduced in 1992, it lacks punishment and any serious attempt at enforcement, and is consequently ignored by restaurateurs and bar owners.
But a redrafted law to be put to the lower house of parliament next week would impose 'significant penalties' on those who flout it, according to the bill's champion, conservative MP (from the Union for a Popular Movement) Yves Bur.
He said it was only a matter of time before French restaurants and bars were forced to go smoke-free because of the public health fallout.
'The ban on smoking in bars and restaurants is inevitable,' he told Le Monde. 'The problem is not a matter of if this will happen, but when.'
Fresh from a trip to Ireland on a fact-finding mission, he is confident that smoke-free dining and drinking is now a fait accompli in France.