A daily part of French life, the country consumes six billion baguettes each year and now President Macron has backed a bid to cement their cultural status
ADVERTISEMENTFrench president Emmanuel Macron has said baguettes should be recognised as a cultural treasure and placed on Unesco's Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
A cornerstone of French cuisine, Macron has even gone as far as saying: "The baguette is the envy of the whole world."
There is a "know-how", a "knack" to making a good French stick which makes the foodstuff a good contender for a protected status, he said yesterday at the Elysee Palace.
France's national baker's association has already submitted an application to the Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
They may have been inspired Naples, Italy, convincing the UN's cultural body to offer pizza a protected status.
The Unesco organisation behind listing "cultural items" strives to save traditions from globalisation.
President of the National Confederation of Bakers and Patisserie Chefs (CNBPF), Dominique Anract, said growing competition from supermarkets means professionals in his industry should react and "fight to protect the quality" of baguettes.
"We need to preserve and strengthen the artisanal dimension of our profession," he said.
The Parisian baker used the ceremonial presentation of the "galette des rois" to the French president to make his recommendation to Macron.
If accepted, the baguette would be in good company on Unesco's lists, which include cultural traditions such as: Summer solstice fire festivals in the Pyrenees, the Tango, Arabic coffee as a symbol of generosity and beer culture in Belgium.
A more general listing that concerns France's culinary heritage, the "Gastronomic meal of the French," has already been added.