Paris non smoking

Finally, the (no) smoking law is here. The day that I dreaded arrived on the 1st of the year. And typical of the French, this was declared the day of ‘tolerance.’ Forget about tolerance as we know it among people of different creeds and colors (France despite its apparent multiculturalism still has a hard time thinking that it is a multicultural society), tolerance here means that on that day, we could still puff away in cafes and bars and restaurants. After that, it’s some seven hundred euros fine for the restaurant or bar or café owner and 68 euros for the person smoking.

The first non tolerance day actually went quite well which really surprised me. The French think that rules and laws are there to be broken (you can observer motorcyclists on sidewalks, drivers who do not respect traffic lights or going to the wrong way of a one way street!). Yet the smoking law actually got respected despite complaints that I hear from everyone all around me.
As for me, never had I felt so deprived. Gone are the days when I will bring work to a café, find my favourite table from where I can watch people go by when work becomes too boring, get served good strong coffee and smoke many cigarettes.

The familiar sight in Melbourne where people (office workers) are huddled against building trying to protect themselves from rain and wind whist smoking a cigarette, can now be seen here. And given that cafes often are found on the ground floor of residential buildings, I am sure those living just above the cafes have much to complain about as smokers talk loudly just below their windows. There are also stories where restaurant clients under the guise of smoking a cigarette went outside and never came back and leaving their bill unpaid.

What I have noticed in my circle is that our time in restaurants has really been shortened. Whereas before, we would smoke a cigarette between courses, now that this is not possible, we would speed through the courses and clear out to smoke a cigarette. This is a sin in a place where food really is part of the cultural activities that is supposed to be enjoyed leisurely…
In neighbourhood cafes where generally we whiled away the hours discussing nothing passionately, people now just come drink their coffee and go. How I missed those times when you can really bond with people you normally don’t cross in your everyday lives.

Luckily there are terraces and now that the weather is improving somewhat (but yes, I have sat outside in freezing weather to drink my coffee with a cigarette, as do many Parisians). But this is not the same as standing at the bar and chatting away with whoever is there. I supposed that’s another aspect of Parisian life that is gone now.
I remember with a pang the complaints Americans always had arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport: people (you bet they were French) smoking under the no smoking signs and the smoky terminal building despite it being a smoke free building. Well, now the air is clean and life is just, how will I put it, a little bit less French?

Hints for smokers visiting Paris: At CDG airport, you have to get out of the terminal to smoke. In the city, many terraces now has outside heaters where you can take your coffee or meals and have the right to smoke. A packet of cigarettes cost about 5 euros 30 cents in France.