Gitanes cigarettes are manufactured by Altadis, a French and Spanish tobacco company. The company’s facility that produces this particular cigarette is located in the Netherlands. Certain French laws have made production of cigarettes costly, this is one of the reasons that Altadis decided to have the Gitanes manufactured in the Netherlands. This cigarette is extremely popular in Russia. Many generations ago, the people of the Russian Empire smoked this brand. The name Gitanes, comes from a Spanish word meaning, “Spanish gypsy woman”. Because of that fact, the packing of this cigarette shows the silhouette of a gypsy woman who is holding a tambourine and it is the logo for the cigarette. Gitanes made a name for itself when the name of the cigarette was used as a sponsor for Ligier, a famous Formula 1 racing team from the years 1976 to 1995. Doing so, gave this cigarette world wide attention. Originally, this cigarette was only produced as non-filtered. However, only the filtered version is not exported worldwide. The full name of the filtered cigarette is Gitanes Blondes, as the tobacco used is a lot lighter in color than the type used for the older non-filtered cigarettes. The also offer a Light brand for those who wish for a milder flavor.