Stand by for a news flash from Paris's Had to Happen department.
Few can have failed to notice that smokers, faced with fines if they light up at work, are forming sad little huddles at the entrances to workplaces. It is not completely new, of course - the same sight, involving smaller numbers, could be encountered even before the recent law took effect as more and more offices imposed their own bans. What is fresh, however, is the stern warning from the Mairie de Paris that anyone stubbing out a cigarette on the pavement faces a whacking 183 euro fine. That is rather steeper than the penalty for defying the smoking ban and the same price you'd pay if caught allowing your dog to do its business on le trottoir.
Few can have failed to notice that smokers, faced with fines if they light up at work, are forming sad little huddles at the entrances to workplaces. It is not completely new, of course - the same sight, involving smaller numbers, could be encountered even before the recent law took effect as more and more offices imposed their own bans. What is fresh, however, is the stern warning from the Mairie de Paris that anyone stubbing out a cigarette on the pavement faces a whacking 183 euro fine. That is rather steeper than the penalty for defying the smoking ban and the same price you'd pay if caught allowing your dog to do its business on le trottoir.
Was there ever a better reason for the street, in the noble traditions of France, to make itself heard?
French workers hooked on the weed must instantly mobilise to fight for outdoor ashtrays.
Labels: ashtrays, ban, cigarettes, fines, France, Law, outdoors, Paris, smoking
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