Défense de fumer!

The French are giving up smoking in cafes, with new laws coming into effect on 1 January. Everywhere else in the world, the ban has been on public health grounds. Only in France could it become a matter of philosophy.

Take Veronique Moran, 51, a regular at Le Cyrano on the Place de Clichy.

"Smokers are more passionate," she says. "We're more sensitive, we think about things and talk about things deeply, we get carried away, we rebel against things. The ban on smoking in cafés is the end of a type of person."

The owner of Le Panier, Olivier Colombe, puts it more bluntly. "All my customers smoke, all my employees smoke. What are we going to do?"

Suck it, Olivier.