Paris fights to remain European capital of smoking
Friday, February 18, 2011 at 9:04 Maintaining my recent European theme, Peter Thurgood has written an article for The Free Society entitled 'Spot the difference: how Paris is coming to terms with the public smoking ban'.
The first thing I noticed was that almost every bar/restaurant, had outside seating, with patio heaters and a plastic awning around it. The second thing I noticed were the ashtrays on every table. Could this be the headquarters of the French Resistance? Whatever it was, I was determined to enter, and hopefully join up.
Inside the area cordoned off by the plastic awning, it was comfortable and warm, and the waitress accepted me and my smoking habit with a friendly smile and no irritating hand waving in front of her face, which we seem to experience in the UK. Other customers came and went, some smoked, some didn’t, but the atmosphere at all times was warm and friendly, just the opposite to the intolerance smokers are subjected to here in the UK.
I went to a number of other restaurants, bars, and cafes and, at a guess, I would say that approximately 80 per cent of them had this same type of plastic awning surrounding their outside seating area. In other words, the needs and comforts of smokers are well and truly catered for. Also catered for are the needs of the non-smokers who have the whole of the inside of the building ... in which to enjoy their self-imposed segregation, if they so wish.
I have written about this before, but Peter's article reminds me of the time that Forest sent a delegation of smokers to Paris in order to escape No Smoking Day in Britain.
We chose Paris because, in those days, the French capital thoroughly deserved the title 'European capital of smoking'. Our little group - which included Lord Harris of High Cross and Judith Hatton, authors of Murder A Cigarette, and Bob Shields of the Daily Record - travelled by Eurostar (which still had smoking coaches) and was met at Gare du Nord by representatives from a smokers' rights group in France.
Lunch took place at a restaurant used, appropriately, by the Resistance during the Second World War, and the entire day was a great success.
Whether Paris remains the European capital of smoking is arguable. In 2011 Prague and Budapest are obvious rivals, but read Peter's article and make up your own mind. Comments welcome.
PS. I wish I could find Bob Shields' report. With photographs, it occupied a double-page spread and was very, very funny. Unfortunately it was eleven years ago and I can't find a copy anywhere.
Reader Comments (3)
Smoking Hot did a number of posts referring to 'The Resistance' and the formation of similar here in the UK. It's tongue in cheek but rather good.
http://nothing-2-declare.blogspot.com/2010/07/resistance.html
@Simon,
are you sure of Peter being right about this plastic awning? From what l've heard the protection offered to smokers re shelters etc is pathetic and would be illegal if used for such as cattle. lndeed the cattle have better protection than smokers are allowed..
I did send Simon a photo of the type of plastic sheeting/awning, that I spoke about Zaphod. Maybe if you ask him nicely, he will post the photo for all to see.
I can assure you that the plastic sheeting is very thick, and mostly in overlapping layers, which allows you walk through it, so to speak. Far, far better than anything I have seen this side of the channel.
How dare smokers and non-smokers socialise happily together! Paris ASH needs to import some of our anti-smokers...
Why hasn't that happened here? Probably a mix of the heavy-handed enforcement of the ban, the hyper-propaganda in the run up to implementation ('only four days until a smokefree UK' and the like), the subsequent simmering resentment of smokers of their sudden pariah status, the fact that we don't do service very well here (I've certainly seen very few decent areas for smokers) and the tendency to meekly accept laws, no matter how poor.
(BTW I'd be interested to see the photo)