Overview

• A decree published June 28 takes effect June 29 and prohibits smoking on beaches, in public parks and gardens, under bus shelters, in sports facilities and around schools across France.
• The ban explicitly exempts café and restaurant terraces as well as electronic cigarettes, drawing criticism from anti-tobacco advocates over mixed messaging.
• Health Minister Catherine Vautrin said the measure is designed to eliminate passive smoking where children gather, declaring that tobacco must disappear from youth-frequented areas.
• A pedagogical phase is under way and a forthcoming health ministry order will define precise no-smoking perimeters and any applicable fines.
• This expansion builds on the 2023–2027 National Tobacco Control Program’s goal of a tobacco-free generation by 2032 and follows voluntary local smoke-free experiments in over 1,600 municipalities.