French set for culture shock as smoking ban looms
The smoky café, 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.
