Cigarettes drive French from cafes
Is French cafe culture in trouble? An article from Agence France-Presse says so:
The French have been deserting their country's trademark cafes in droves in the past decade, preferring more sophisticated bars or other smoke-free venues, a study showed.Only 41 percent of French people said they regularly visited cafes -- compared to 81 percent in 1997 -- although a majority still said they saw them as an important part of French culture.
Asked why they had change habits, consumers cited high prices and a lack of real non-smoking areas, good music or entertainment, according to the study on consumption patterns, carried out for the drinks group France Boissons.
Fast-food outlets, restaurants and leisure centres all saw their customer base grow over the period, apparently benefiting from the behaviour change
Regular readers know that smoking bans are one of my hot button political issues. And while I normally keep political posts to my other weblog, every once in a while coffee and politics overlap.
In this case, the article cited above was sent to my friend Brooke Oberwetter. Brooke was a leader in the campaign against the DC smoking ban. Without a hint of irony, the article was sent out as a pro-ban message, even though it shows consumers voluntarily deserting smoke-filled businesses without legislation. Anti-smoking activists should instead take this as an encouraging sign: even against the ingrained cigarettes and coffee culture of France, the market is shifting people toward non-smoking social options. Activists don't need a ban to reach their ends. They just need a little patience.
For more on evolution of non-smoking cafes, see my post from March. For why I believe the transition to smokefree bars in the US is taking longer than some non-smokers would like, see that same post and also this one.
Comments
It's interesting that cafes seem to be declining in the country that gave them their name while in the US and England (or at least London) chain and other cafes proliferate,at least in part because they aim (with some success) to satisfy a desire for that "third place" where people can congregate informally outside of home and work.
Posted by: David | May 27, 2006 7:29 AM