Paris' fabled cafes will be smoke-filled no more: a nationwide indoor-smoking ban took effect on Jan. 1, the Associated Press reported Jan. 2.

No-smoking signs have been posted at the Cafe Elysees and other famed gathering places, pleasing many but horrifying some smokers and traditionalists.

"Today's filet mignon tastes richer than it did yesterday," said Cafe Elysees patron Pierre Morgon, a smoker who said the ban would motivate him to quit. "There's no way I'll be able to put it off anymore," he said.

Other smokers were defiant, like Jean-Pierre Aiglement, a waiter at the Cafe Au Depart. "I'll smoke where I please," he said, vowing not to be forced outside by a "stupid law."

Violators of the new law face a $93 fine, while owners who allow smoking inside their establishments can be slapped with a $198 fine. "Once they start enforcing the ban, this place will be empty," Aiglement said. Others, however, predicted that an initial slowdown in business would be followed by a rebound as the French grow used to the law.

"There's more to Paris than just smoke," said American tourist (and smoker) Regina Sauma.