French die-hard smokers defy anti-smoking laws

serge gainsbourg
Originally uploaded by Genjoe

No doubt Serge Gainsbourg would have been one of the first to park himself on the pavement for a smoke and a Pastis, had he survived the excesses of life's legal vices long enough to witness France's anti-smoking legislation. His fatal heart attack in March 1991 came around the time that the French first started acknowledging the existence of the seedy taboo underworld of the non-fumeur. As a gesture of openness towards this fringe of society, they were offered a small table by the toilets in café's throughout this smoke-loving nation.

And so it seems from last reports, it takes more than Parisian bureaucrats to put a Frenchman off his clope. The OFT (Office of French Tobacco), or something like that, have discovered that since the ban on smoking in public places at the end of 2007, there has been absolutely no reduction in the number of French smokers. So the law has only so far benefited the non-smokers (70% of the population - so they must have improved since the old days I guess) - no bad thing of course.

As I write this, there isn't much room on the pavements of Haute Savoie for smoking activities, unless you fancy standing in three foot of snow. ....

Avalanche risks remind skiers that all that glisters is not gold

Expérience d'une Avalanche par Xavier Delerue
Video sent by RECmag

Filmer : Myriam Lang-Willar, Guido Perrini, Olivier Rebattet
Photo : Christoffer Sjöström
Music : Jean-Pascal Novel
Editing : Xavier Cordente

As the snow keeps on falling, the temptation to head for powder is rising by the day, a thrill that is deep-rooted within the soul of anyone who adores carving through the white stuff. But that glorious feeling as you finally manage to put in a few turns in deep snow masks the ever-present dangers of heading off-piste, as you assure yourself that, of course, 'it'll never happen to me'. The difference between those who make the sad headlines every year (it's already started in the local press) and the young plucky chap in the video is that he was most likely thinking 'it's probably going to happen to me' - hence the skill, security, support, equipment, and preparation that helped him to survive - just. Not to mention plain old good fortune.

I'm not sure of the point of this post - certainly not to moralize the foolhardy, or to claim in any sense that those who toss ice-cubes down the vest of fear will read it and suddenly say to themselves 'Dangerous, you say? I hadn't thought of that. Best stay at home and make a nice cuppa tea'. Most live to tell the tale, and tell the tale they do, but we all need to at least go prepared...