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· Dining/Entertainment
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· France
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A smoking ban, a deep recession and changing work habits have laid siege to the nation's storied social hubs
Jump to full article: Globe and Mail (ca), 2009-05-26
Author: Eric Reguly
Intro: The owner, a tall, slim, 50ish blonde named Chauvin Marc, knows the cash register will not brim with euros when she leaves tonight. “The young are quitting the bars because of the smoking ban,” she says. “It's also because of the [economic] crisis.”
She looks out the window. “The street is a little sad.”
Ms. Marc is not alone. All across France, cafés and bars are closing by the thousands and their mortality rate seems to be accelerating because of the recession, changing drinking and dining habits, and the stress induced by the money culture.
Work beckons and the French don't linger at cafés, bars and restaurants like they used to.
The smoking ban, introduced early last year, did a lot of damage, say café and bar owners. Penelope Semavoine, a young Parisian who works in public relations, notices that the cafés are particularly empty in the winter. “The cafés I go to are still full, but only in the summer, when the smokers can pull a chair outdoors,” she says.
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