MPS KEEP MAXIMUM NUMBER OF CARTONS YOU CAN BUY ABROAD AT FIVE, DESPITE PROTESTS THAT THIS BREACHES EU LAW THE number of cigarette cartons you can legally bring into France from abroad has

been kept at five. MPs voted to keep the cap despite criticism from the government that it breaches European Union rules on the free movement of goods. The government had tabled an amendment

to remove the cap, saying that, if France was ordered to scrap it, cross-border cigarette trade would rocket instantly as a result of France's higher prices. Government studies have

shown that between 12 and 22 per cent of cigarettes smoked in France are bought abroad. MPs voted not to raise the price of cigarettes again, having already pushed up prices in November.