France breathes easy as smoking ban to be extended

THE smoky cafe, essence of the French lifestyle to many, will be but a hazy memory from next week.

The extension of France’s smoking ban to bars, discotheques, restaurants, hotels, casinos and cafes on January 1 marks a momentous cultural shift in a country where thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir once held court while clutching cigarettes in Left Bank cafes.

The phased smoking ban began last February in workplaces, schools, airports, hospitals and other “closed and covered” public places.