They gather outside in small groups as smoking is no longer allowed inside restaurants in France.
Puffing on their thin cigarettes, both customers and cafe workers gather amongst themselves to chat and pass a lighter.
The bitter acidic smell is terrible if you have to walk through it or sit too close. In the U.S., smoking is frowned upon, and we push our remaining smokers off to remote areas.
But here in France, smoking is still very accepted. You occasionally see the wisps from a Vaper, but, by and large, the old-fashioned cigarette remains the favorite.
One young woman, pulling her long dark hair back while holding the cigarette in her slender fingers in that oh-so certain European way, as someone flicks the lighter for her, takes a long drag while murmuring “Merci”. The smoke swirls around her before floating lazily up and away.
Damn.
The French still make smoking look sexy.
Provided its from a distance and upwind.
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