Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 04:33am on 02 Jul 2025,Wednesday International
France’s government has enacted sweeping new anti-smoking regulations that ban smoking in most outdoor spaces where children are present—such as parks, beaches, school zones, bus shelters, pools, and libraries—supplanting France’s long-standing image of the “smoking Parisian.” A penalty of €135 (up to €700) will be imposed on violators, though an initial grace period is expected . With around 30% of French adults still smoking and 15% of 17‑year‑olds lighting up, health officials aim to “denormalize” tobacco use and reduce France’s 75,000 annual smoking-related deaths . Restaurants and cafés, already smoke-free since 2007–08, still allow smoking on outdoor terraces, a symbol of French social life—a concession lobbyists defended as essential to France’s café culture. (PC: AFP)
