What the rules actually say today
The question comes up every service, from customers and staff alike. Since 1 July 2025, a decree has banned smoking in a long list of outdoor public spaces. Café and restaurant terraces are not on that list.
In other words: smoking on terraces is still allowed in France. That leeway has nothing to do with your local council. It depends on the exact layout of your terrace, and this is where a lot of operators get caught out.
The general rule dates back to 2006 and hasn't changed: smoking is banned in all enclosed, covered spaces open to the public. A terrace can therefore fall into that category without you ever deciding it should.
Open or enclosed: the only question that matters
The enclosure test
A terrace counts as an enclosed space as soon as it is both covered and shut in all the way around. Side tarpaulins rolled down, screens set edge to edge, glazed walls: smoking is banned there, exactly as it is indoors.
A terrace that stays largely open to the street, on the other hand, lets air circulate. It falls outside the ban, even with an awning overhead. The thing to watch is seasonal: plenty of venues close their terraces in for the winter and unknowingly turn them into places where smoking is no longer allowed.
How this plays out in practice
| Terrace layout | Covered | Closed on the sides | Is smoking allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tables on the pavement, no awning | No | No | Yes |
| Awning or parasol, no screens | Yes | No | Yes |
| Canopy with two side walls | Yes | Partly | Yes, as long as one side stays open |
| Veranda tarped on all four sides | Yes | Yes | No |
| Heated, fully glazed terrace | Yes | Yes | No |
Remember the reasoning rather than the list: the moment a smoker can no longer see the sky or the street from their chair, you are in an enclosed space.
The public spaces now off limits to smokers
The 2025 decree extended the ban to busy outdoor spaces. The stated aim is to protect children and minors from second-hand smoke, and to make cigarettes less visible wherever they are.
- the area around schools, nurseries and libraries;
- parks, public gardens and beaches during the bathing season;
- sports facilities, including the approaches to stadiums;
- bus shelters and certain waiting areas.
These measures come with a requirement to display visible signage. They don't apply to your terrace, but they often apply to the pavement across the road. If your venue sits next to a school or a square, your customers may be confused: it's up to you to have an answer ready.
On the ground, the confusion almost never comes from the smoker. It comes from the family at the next table, who assume the ban already applies everywhere.
Penalties: who pays, and how much
Where the ban does apply and isn't respected, two liabilities run in parallel. The smoker first, then whoever runs the venue.
- Smoking where it is prohibited: a fixed fine of €135.
- Missing statutory signage, or an operator turning a blind eye: up to €750.
- Putting an ashtray out in a non-smoking area: the same exposure, made worse by repeat inspections.
Enforcement falls to the municipal police, the national police and authorised state officers. In practice, fines handed out on terraces remain rare. The real risk lies elsewhere: a dispute with a customer or an employee claiming their right to smoke-free air.
Elsewhere in Europe: a preview of what's coming
Several neighbouring countries have already taken the step and serve as a testing ground.
Belgium and Geneva
In Belgium, the ban has covered enclosed terraces for years, with a strict definition of how open a space must be. Geneva follows much the same logic: as soon as a terrace is covered and closed in, it counts as a place where smoking is banned.
Spain
Spain is working on a blanket extension of the smoking ban to café and restaurant terraces, vaping included. The bill has been under debate since 2025. If it passes, it will become the benchmark cited in the French debate.
France's position, though, is stable for now: the government deliberately left terraces out of the decree to protect café and restaurant trade. Public health groups continue to push for their inclusion, particularly with the goal of a smoke-free generation by 2032.
What you can put in place this week
You don't need to wait for a new law to organise your floor plan. A few simple steps head off 90% of the friction.
- Check whether your terrace is enclosed for part of the year, and put up the matching signage.
- Set up a clearly marked non-smoking area, street-side or at one end of the terrace, rather than a blanket ban that nobody has explained.
- Train your team on a single response, calm and identical from everyone.
- Check that your terrace permit actually matches the footprint you occupy.
One practical detail: on a menu viewed on a phone, a single line can tell guests which tables are non-smoking and which aren't. It's one of the everyday uses of a QR code menu, editable without reprinting anything when you close the terrace in for winter.
And the customers who want to quit
Some of these questions land at the bar, usually in the evening. Two pointers are enough to give a useful answer without playing health expert.
39 89, Tabac info service, connects callers with a smoking cessation specialist and offers free follow-up. The app of the same name supports quitting day to day. Those are the only public services worth naming; the rest is a matter for the GP.
The end of the cigarette on terraces
The direction of travel is clear. Every extension of smoke-free outdoor space brings the terrace question closer. Operators who plan ahead for a zoned layout will adapt painlessly; the others will discover the rule on the Sunday an inspector turns up.