The news was enough to have French smokers choking on their morning cigarette: France is considering banning some tobacco brands because they are just too cool.

Among those threatened are Gitanes and Gauloises, beloved of Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge Gainsbourg, who was said to puff through five packets of filterless Gitanes a day.

The ban, which could also cover the Lucky Strike, Marlboro Gold, Vogue and Fortuna brands, is the logical conclusion of a new public health law – based on a European directive – which stipulates tobacco products “must not include any element that contributes to the promotion of tobacco or give an erroneous impression of certain characteristics”.

Reporting the ban, Le Figaro said that while the directive was “relatively vague”, it clearly covered anything suggesting “masculinity or femininity, physical slimness, youth or sociability”.

Alarmed cigarette companies have written to the French prime minister, Manuel Valls, demanding a meeting “given the seriousness and urgency of the situation” and asking for clarification and the chance to appeal against any ban before the new health code article, currently being considered by the council of state, is published in 10 days’ time.

The tobacco firms say the health minister, Marisol Touraine, “appears to have an extremely wide interpretation of the rules” and accuse her of “arbitrary and disproportionate” application of EU directives.

“The lack of visibility in the measure’s content, the way it will work and when it will be applied, puts us in a legally uncertain position,” they wrote in their letter.

According to the ministry, the packaging of Gauloises and Gitanes – the latter features the figure of a woman dancing with a fan – represent “feminine icons”, while Vogue and News brands are “youth and social symbols”, and Lucky Strike, Fortuna and Marlboro Gold (previously Marlboro Light) suggest “luck and success”.

In May, France ordered all cigarette manufacturers to create neutral packaging. The bill means that from November, French shops can only sell the new packets that are of a uniform size and colour and have the brand name in a small uniform font.

The new packs are part of a hotly disputed health reform bill voted through by French MPs in 2014 which also tackles eating disorders, sunbed use and binge drinking. An attempt to scrap the neutral cigarette package clause failed by just two votes in November 2015.

Smoking is blamed for approximately 78,000 deaths a year in France, which has an estimated 13 million smokers – including about one-third of teenagers and a quarter of adults – according to the World Health Organisation. Existing EU laws mean tobacco firms must cover 65% of their packaging with health warnings.

Gauloises and Gitanes cigarettes have been part of the French identity since 1910, when they were first produced. There was shock in France in 2014, when the national cigarette company Seita announced it was moving production of Gauloises to Poland. During both world wars, smoking Gauloises – whose packet featured an Asterix-style helmet with wings – was seen as an act of patriotism.

Le Figaro suggested any ban would simply give Gitanes and Gaulouises even more appeal as a “forbidden fruit”.