France's Smoking Ban Stubbed Out

Legislation to prohibit smoking in public places has been postponed by embattled French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, still smarting from the country-wide protests that resulted in his scrapping the much-maligned youth labor reform. Instead, he instructed health minister Xavier Bertrand to study the problem in greater depth and explore various solutions. And if Bertrand can stall for long enough, perhaps the issue will go away until after the 2007 presidential election.

If voters are the concern, it's not immediately clear what the government fears. According to a poll conducted by the weekly Journal du Dimanche and IFOP this past October, 80% of the French population supports such a smoking prohibition, and for more than a decade smoking has been officially restricted in bars and restaurants though largely unenforced. The situation is thus the opposite of the recent labor reform protests; in this case, the government would be promoting majority will, not opposing it.

Indeed, the number of French smokers is declining (last year the Tobacco Sellers' Association reported a 35% drop in sales since 2002) while anti-smoking organizations have been working over the past few years with the government toward what they have called an "Irish-style" ban. Its proponents aren't mincing words at this latest turn of events. "We're very disappointed," says Dr. Yves Martinet, president of the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT). "Villepin had a golden opportunity handed to him. True, the tobacco sellers and restaurant owners are against him, but he has the support of everyone else. He's a fool for not taking it."

Call it the CPE Effect. If the issue had come up for a vote a month ago, says Martinet, "the law probably could have passed." Bertrand is to report back to the prime minister "in the coming months," on the effects that different levels of smoking restrictions would have on commerce vs. individual freedoms. Villepin also emphasized the importance of reinforcing available measures to help smokers quit and prevent new ones.

Ultimately it's a question of when, not if, France will join the growing number of countries with bans. But for the rest of its term, the weakened government is choosing its battles carefully, not wanting to risk anything else going up in smoke.