Paris
Tobacco vendors across France shut down for a day to protest this week’s rise in taxes on cigarettes. The price of a pack of cigarettes went from $4.60 to $5.40, as part of the government’s unprecedented anti-smoking campaign. Cigarette-shop owners declared a “day of mourning” for what they said would be the death of their business. More than 90 percent of them closed their stores and draped them in black crepe. But the government was unmoved, saying it would raise taxes again next year. More than half of French adults smoke, and lung cancer is the country’s leading cause of death for people under 65.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Does Reform have a Russia problem?Talking Point Nigel Farage is ‘in bed with Putin’, claims Rachel Reeves, after party’s former leader in Wales pleaded guilty to taking bribes from the Kremlin
-
Five key questions about the Gaza peace dealThe Explainer Many ‘unresolved hurdles’ remain before Donald Trump’s 20-point plan can get the go-ahead
-
See the Northern Lights from these bucket list destinationsThe Week Recommends The dazzling displays can be spotted across Iceland, Sweden and parts of Canada
