More smoking bans in France
Stricter rules against tobacco consumption have come into force in France: smoking is now prohibited on beaches, at bus stops, in parks, around schools and on sports grounds. The tightened regulations are mainly aimed at protecting young people from active and passive smoking. Health Minister Catherine Vautrin wants France to have a new "tobacco-free generation" by 2032. The national press is unimpressed.
Covid-era infantilisation
The government is looking for scapegoats to distract attention from its own powerlessness, Le Figaro snorts:
“As long as smokers on the beach keep their distance from their neighbours and don't leave their cigarette butts lying around, they're not bothering anyone. Why take away their freedom? This all evokes bad memories of the Covid pandemic, when the French were treated like children. ... Powerless in the face of the explosion of violence linked to drug trafficking and Islamism, the state is being all the more ruthless vis-à-vis honest citizens. To compensate for its dwindling authority it needs to find scapegoats, whether they're smokers or motorists.”
Double standards
France should take the same tough stance on alcohol, Le Monde advocates:
“When it comes to drinking, government policy is far less ambitious, and actually very limited. But there is no justification for this double standard. ... Although alcohol consumption has been declining since the 1960s, France still ranks among those countries where people drink the most. ... Yet alcohol is just as dangerous for consumers. ... Doctors, addiction therapists and grassroots activists in the field have been calling for a genuine public health policy for years. The state finances No Tobacco Month but, under pressure from the wine lobby, it has never supported Dry January.”