French senator proposes prison for throwing cigarette butts during wildfire-risk conditions

A French senator has put forward a bill to make throwing or leaving a cigarette butt in a public or private place a criminal offence.

The proposed offence would apply when the weather is favourable to the spread of fire, such as during dry or windy conditions when vegetation is dry. 

Sébastien Pla, a Socialist senator for Aude in southern France, made the proposal after a summer of severe wildfires in France. Aude also saw a devastating blaze in 2025 in which one person died. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although authorities have ruled out a natural cause and are investigating a possible human origin.

The measure would create a new offence under Article 223-1-3 of the French Penal Code.

“The act of throwing or abandoning, in any public or private place, including premises occupied by the person, any type of cigarette butt, in fine weather or during a period of wind and when the vegetation is dry, shall be punishable by one year's imprisonment and a €15,000 fine,” the proposed law, set out in a bill deposited in the Senate on August 26, 2025, states.

Throwing or abandoning a cigarette butt is currently subject to a €135 fixed fine as a littering offence. Higher penalties can apply if it causes a fire. The proposed bill would add another level of offence by penalising the act when there is a risk of fire, even if no fire is actually caused. 

In the explanatory statement accompanying his bill, Mr Pla pointed to the scale of the 2025 Aude fire, which destroyed more than 16,000 hectares and mobilised more than 2,000 firefighters. 

He said that despite these dangers, people continue to throw butts from vehicles. 

According to the Fondation VINCI Autoroutes, 17% of smokers polled in 2025 admitted having thrown a cigarette butt from a car window, while an average of 100 cigarette butts are thrown every day per kilometre of motorway, in each direction.

Mr Pla said the existing legal framework is not sufficient and that a specific offence would provide a stronger deterrent and remind people of their responsibility during periods of high fire risk.

The €15,000 fine would be a maximum sentence and not an automatic penalty for every offender. The offence would be dealt with by a criminal court, rather than simply through a fixed fine. 

The proposal mainly addresses situations where a fire could reasonably start because of a combination of factors such as dry vegetation and weather conditions. 

The bill has been referred to the Senate’s Law Committee but has not yet been scheduled for review. It must first be added to the Senate’s agenda for debate. It then needs to be approved by both houses of the French Parliament before it can become law.