It is the instantly recognisable symbol of the Gallic way of life which has endured for more than a century, reports The Telegraph.
In Paris, the iconic baguette is so beloved that historic laws insist upon bakers curtailing their holidays to remain open throughout the summer months.
Now, those laws have been scrapped in a bid to cut red tape, leaving the city's bakers free to take the summer off – which has sparked fears of an impending baguette crisis.
The rules had ensured that roughly half of France's bakers would stay open throughout July and August, while those who did close were forced to post signs on their windows pointing to the nearest alternative.
But this year will mark the first time since the French Revolution that boulangerie workers are allowed to flee Paris en masse during the summer holidays.
It means the familiar sight of a Frenchman ambling across the street with a baguette under his arm could soon be replaced with scenes of angered locals loitering outside vacant boulangeries.
The decision to drop the rules, which previously saw up to thirty bakers being fined each year for closing shop early, was made in late 2014.
But it is only now that its full implications are being felt, with disgruntled Parisians searching in vain for their "little sticks," as we know them, across the city.