Here's an interesting article on problems facing Paris by Andrew Hussey, a British historian of Paris, that appeared in the Sunday Observer. 

Good stuff, though I note that he gets the bit about smokers wrong ("smokers are still beyond being a persecuted race in Paris, as a visit to any bar will prove.")

If all goes well (and nearly 70 percent of French people support a ban on smoking in all public places 
according to a survey I saw last year)  the smoky days will end on Feb. 1, 2008. Currently, there is no smoking in offices and public spaces. Bars, cafes and restaurants have until the end of January to ready for the transition. See this BBC article.