Smoking in public areas where children are present will soon be outlawed across France, marking a significant step in the nation’s ongoing battle against tobacco use, Health Minister Catherine Vautrin announced Thursday.
Beginning July 1, lighting a cigarette will be prohibited in parks, beaches, bus stops, outside schools, public gardens, and at sporting events. The move, aimed at protecting children from secondhand smoke, comes with a €135 ($154) fine for violators.
“Tobacco must disappear where there are children,” Vautrin said in an interview with Ouest-France. “The freedom to smoke must end where the freedom of children to breathe fresh air begins.”
Café terraces will remain exempt from the ban, and e-cigarettes are not included in the new legislation.
Law enforcement officers will oversee compliance, though Vautrin emphasized the importance of “self-regulation,” encouraging citizens to respect the new rules without heavy policing.
Despite France’s long-standing association with cigarette culture, public attitudes have been shifting. Nearly a quarter of the population, 23%, still smokes daily, according to national health data. However, over 1,500 French municipalities have already implemented smoking bans in specific public areas, including hundreds of smoke-free beaches.
France banned indoor smoking in restaurants and public venues back in 2008, but this new regulation marks one of the most expansive outdoor smoking restrictions to date.
Health officials see the upcoming ban as a bold stride toward creating smoke-free public environments and safeguarding the next generation from the harmful effects of tobacco exposure.
