The request came just a few weeks after Greece was granted an extension to its own bailout-repayment period.

WSJ: No Easy Passage for Ireland and Portugal

The government granted an extension to these smokers' havens after heavy lobbying by the country's 30, 000 tobacco bars, the only point of sale for cigarettes in France.

NPR: French Begin to Put Smoking Ban in Place

Any further time extensions are believed to be unlikely given that an extension was already granted once in November last year.

FORBES: Best Buy's Earnings: Margin Erosion And Sales Outlook In Focus