Plain tobacco packaging support from health associations. As in other countries, there was fierce protest from the tobacco industry and tobacco retailers associations. The Health Minister also seemed lukewarm in his support, preferring to see the effect of newly-introduced health warnings. Under the next legislature however, the new Socialist Health Minister, Marisol Touraine, said she would fight especially at the European level for "neutral packaging". As in Australia, the tobacco industry countered that generic packaging would be easy to counterfeit, which would increase illegal cigarette sales. The EU directive eventually contained no explicit measures regarding plain packaging. In reaction, the French government announced
Tobacco packaging warning messages of Health amended the "Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008" to enforce the changes effective from 1 April 2015. However, the government decision to increase pictorial warnings on tobacco packets from April 1, was put on hold indefinitely, following the recommendations of a Parliamentary committee, which reportedly did not speak to health experts, but only spoke to tobacco lobby representatives. On April 5, 2016, the health ministry ordered government agencies to enforce this new rule. Following the intervention by the Parliamentary committee, NGO Health of Millions represented by Prashant Bhushan filed a petition in Supreme Court