Once A Luxury Food, French Baguette Gets UNESCO Heritage Status: Report

As per Radio France Internationale report, France submitted its request to UNESCO in early 2021, with the baguettes chosen over the zinc roofs of Paris and a wine festival in Arbois.

French baguettes

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New Delhi: Placing it in a culinary pantheon among other delicacies, the French baguette was given UNESCO heritage status on Wednesday.

The UN agency granted "intangible cultural heritage status" to the long, crusty loaf bread, that is a staple of French life.

As per Radio France Internationale report, France submitted its request to UNESCO in early 2021, with the baguettes chosen over the zinc roofs of Paris and a wine festival in Arbois.

“The baguette is a daily ritual, a structuring element of the meal, synonymous with sharing and conviviality,” the report quoted UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay as saying.

Notably, the French baguette joins other foods and culinary cultures on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, including the making of Neapolitan pizza, kimchi, Belgian beer culture, the "Mediterranean diet" and Arabic coffee.

It is to be noted that due to the spread of industrial bakeries and out-of-town supermarkets in rural areas, the country has been losing 400 artisanal bakeries per year since 1970, from 55,000 (one per 790 residents) to 35,000 today (one per 2,000).

“There is always a boulangerie nearby, you can go and buy fresh affordable bread and you meet people, meet with bakers, it's a very important element of social cohesion,” CNN quoted Azoulay as saying.

According to the UNESCO chief, it took six years for France to collect all the necessary documentation before it submitted its request to UNESCO.

“This will make people realize that this regular baguette that they know very well, is something precious," she said, adding, "It comes from history and it has character and it's important to made the public aware of this, to be proud of it."

It is to be noted that the baton-shaped bread dates back to 1770 in Paris. However, since it was considered a luxury food, the working class chose rustic loaves as they lasted longer.

But, by 60s and 70s, the baguette entered the households and was a huge hit in the countryside.