A 22-year-old student obtained a decision from the Council of State which could force France to align with European law, meaning the possibility of importing up to 800 cigarettes from the European Union, compared to 200 cigarettes today. today.
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This is news that brings joy to French smokers: they will soon be able to bring back more cigarettes from the European Union. A recent decision of the Council ofEstate asks the Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to issue a decree to set a threshold in accordance with European law. Currently in France, individuals traveling to an EU country can bring 200 cigarettes (one carton) back to France, but European regulations provide for up to 800 cigarettes (four cartons).
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Behind this court decision, we find a student from the Ile-de-France region who initiated this procedure nine months ago, after seeing several articles in the press. “It is never easy to win a dispute against theEtat”. Sami Gam, 22, is a student at Sciences-Po after obtaining a law degree. However, his fight againstEtat, which he carried out without the assistance of a lawyer, was not a foregone conclusion. “The outcome was uncertain. It was the first time that I had an appeal that was judged and so to start my career like this is very pleasant.”
“It was normal to fight this illegality”
This victory will not change much in Sami Gam’s tobacco consumption, he considers himself a small smoker. But, according to him, it is a question of principle. “If you run a red light, tomorrow you can get a fine because you broke the law and that’s completely normal, explains the young student. But in the same way, theEThe state must respect its obligations. For me, it was normal to fight this illegality, the fact is that French law was contrary to European regulations on this point. The vast majority of citizens do not necessarily know this because they are not lawyers.”
“It’s a victory which will have concrete consequences for all French people!”
Sami Gam, a student from Ile-de-Franceat franceinfo
The Prime Minister now has six months to bring French law into line with European Union law, i.e. by not setting any threshold on the quantity of cigarettes and tobacco that it is possible to bring back to France from a countries of the European Union, or by setting the same threshold as that in force in Europe (800 cigarettes).