A queue forms most mornings outside the Nicolas Flamel bakery in the Marais, the historic Parisian neighbourhood, as patrons prepare to buy fresh baguettes, deliciously flaky croissants or sweet treats such as pains au chocolat. Get there early enough and the bread will still be hot from the oven, reports The Times.
Here, France’s love affair with baked goods seems alive and well — yet beneath the crust lies a problem: the French are eating only a tiny slice of the amount they once did.
The average French person now eats less than 100g of bread per day, the equivalent of about half a baguette. In 1950, it was 900g. The number of artisanal bakeries making bread on site in France has declined from about 50,000 to 34,000.
This has raised fears for the future of French bakers and the flour mills they rely upon. However, an unexpected trend on the other side of the Atlantic may be coming to the rescue. Increasing numbers of Americans are developing a taste for baking bread at home using flour imported from France, and are undeterred by its high price.
Premium French flour costs up to nine times more in the US than its standard supermarket equivalent. Nevertheless, exports of French flour to the US doubled from 716 tonnes in 2023 to 1,383 tonnes last year, according to the trade body Intercéréal.