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| French laws: no public prayers, no burqas – and no shisha? French laws: no public prayers, no burqas – and no shisha? | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Name: Shisha. | Name: Shisha. |
| Age: About 500 years old? No one knows really. It was probably invented in Persia. | Age: About 500 years old? No one knows really. It was probably invented in Persia. |
| Appearance: Pipes, tubes, bowls and a bit of hose, and lots of brightly coloured decorative stuff. | Appearance: Pipes, tubes, bowls and a bit of hose, and lots of brightly coloured decorative stuff. |
| Eh? It’s quite simple, really. You put a burning coal on to some flavoured tobacco on top of a tube, which extends down into a container of water, above the surface of which you have a hose to suck the smoke and vapour through after it has bubbled up, and hey presto: a massive cigarette! | Eh? It’s quite simple, really. You put a burning coal on to some flavoured tobacco on top of a tube, which extends down into a container of water, above the surface of which you have a hose to suck the smoke and vapour through after it has bubbled up, and hey presto: a massive cigarette! |
| Sounds, um, great. Yeah. You can pass the hose around, too, making it a social experience. And because the smoke has been cooled you can suck in huge clouds of it. Plus, the tobacco comes in lots of lovely flavours: apple, plum, watermelon, apricot … | Sounds, um, great. Yeah. You can pass the hose around, too, making it a social experience. And because the smoke has been cooled you can suck in huge clouds of it. Plus, the tobacco comes in lots of lovely flavours: apple, plum, watermelon, apricot … |
| Sounds like being trapped inside a burning fruiterer’s. I suppose it is like that. But imagine being trapped inside one with your friends, watching the world go by. Shisha cafes are basically booze-free pubs, and they have recently become more popular almost everywhere. | Sounds like being trapped inside a burning fruiterer’s. I suppose it is like that. But imagine being trapped inside one with your friends, watching the world go by. Shisha cafes are basically booze-free pubs, and they have recently become more popular almost everywhere. |
| Why “almost”? Well … You know France? | Why “almost”? Well … You know France? |
| Yup. Nice place. Bit racist. Well, since April a number of mayors there have begun banning public shisha smoking, even outdoors. Four mayors in the southeast and one in Paris, to be exact. | Yup. Nice place. Bit racist. Well, since April a number of mayors there have begun banning public shisha smoking, even outdoors. Four mayors in the southeast and one in Paris, to be exact. |
| On what grounds? Public health and public nuisance, of course. Loïc Dombreval, mayor of Vence, says the ban will “prevent disorder and nuisances which are a threat to order, security, peace and public health in some parts of the town”. | On what grounds? Public health and public nuisance, of course. Loïc Dombreval, mayor of Vence, says the ban will “prevent disorder and nuisances which are a threat to order, security, peace and public health in some parts of the town”. |
| Uh-huh. Charles Scibetta, mayor of Carros, says he is just responding to demand, after receiving nearly 180 complaints. | Uh-huh. Charles Scibetta, mayor of Carros, says he is just responding to demand, after receiving nearly 180 complaints. |
| Is this just an anti-Muslim measure? They aren’t doing any harm! Actually, by smoking shisha they may well be doing serious harm to themselves and to those around them. | Is this just an anti-Muslim measure? They aren’t doing any harm! Actually, by smoking shisha they may well be doing serious harm to themselves and to those around them. |
| All right. But that’s already covered by a ban on smoking in parks, workplaces or enclosed public spaces. Should old men be banned from gathering to play boules and smoke Gitanes? Maybe, if they behaved annoyingly. | All right. But that’s already covered by a ban on smoking in parks, workplaces or enclosed public spaces. Should old men be banned from gathering to play boules and smoke Gitanes? Maybe, if they behaved annoyingly. |
| Were these shisha smokers being annoying? Or are people picking on them? Don’t know. But I suppose anything that both improves public health and antagonises Muslims would be hard for French lawmakers to resist … | Were these shisha smokers being annoying? Or are people picking on them? Don’t know. But I suppose anything that both improves public health and antagonises Muslims would be hard for French lawmakers to resist … |
| Do say: “No public prayers allowed, no public face-covering allowed, no public shisha smoking allowed…” | Do say: “No public prayers allowed, no public face-covering allowed, no public shisha smoking allowed…” |
| Don’t say: “So let’s go burkini crazy!” | Don’t say: “So let’s go burkini crazy!” |