France to ban smoking outdoors in most places
France will ban smoking in all outdoor places that can be accessed by children, including beaches, parks and bus stops, the health and family minister announced Thursday.
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Famed as a country where smokers linger over cigarettes on cafe terraces or strolling down cobblestone streets, France has increasingly tightened restrictions on tobacco use in public spaces in recent years.
The new ban, which will enter into force on July 1, will cover all spaces where children could be present, including 'beaches, parks, public gardens, outside schools, bus stops and sports venues', minister Catherine Vautrin said.
'Tobacco must disappear where there are children,' Vautrin said in an interview published by the regional Ouest-France daily on its website. The freedom to smoke 'stops where children's right to breathe clean air starts', she said.
The ban will also extend to schools, to stop students smoking in front of them.
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Offenders face a fine of up to €135 (US$154), Vautrin said.
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