The French government is banning smoking in all places where children spend time, including beaches, parks and outside schools.

It will come into force on July and be enforced by police, reports the BBC.

Health and Family Minister Catherine Vautrin told French media the aim was to rid cigarettes from all places frequented by children.

She said that “the freedom to smoke must end where the freedom of children to breathe fresh air begins”.

Individuals who violate the smoking rules will face a fine of €135 ($237). Although regular police officers will enforce the ban, Vautrin expressed hope that people would exercise “self-regulation” on their own.

The outdoor terraces of cafes and bars would be exempt from the new rules.

Electronic cigarettes also do not fall under the ban, but the government says it is planning limits on the amounts of nicotine they contain.

According to the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 23 percent of the French population smokes daily, which is the lowest percentage ever documented.

Blanket smoking bans for beaches, parks and other public places were supposed to start last year, but the required legislation was never brought in.

But hundreds of beaches have prohibited smoking for several years after about 1500 local governments introduced their own bans.