For decades, the baguette was almost an automatic gesture in France, part of the daily lives of millions of people. Today, this gesture begins to change. It is not a question of replacing it with a single loaf, but of a variety of larger, naturally fermented breads, made with less refined flours, which are gaining ground in bakeries and in consumption habits. Between bakers and consumers, the feeling is the same: as the French baker and pâtissier sums it up, Benoît Castel, “I don’t think we’ve ever eaten bread as good as we do now”.
In 2022, when the baguette received official UNESCO World Heritage status in Paris, the French delegation held up the thin, crispy loaves in a photo that quickly went viral. The symbol seemed unbeatable, but the reality is more complex.
French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the baguette as “250 grams of magic and perfection in our daily lives”, in a publication accompanied by an old image of Willy Ronis, showing a boy running with a baguette under his arm. Despite international prestige, the recognition was unable to reverse the drop in bread consumption.
Historically, each French person consumed around 700 grams of bread per day in the post-war years. According to the Federation of Bakery Entrepreneurs, this value dropped to 110 grams in 2015 and is now around 99 grams, less than half a baguette a day. A 2023 survey by the National Confederation of French Bakeries and Confectioneries also revealed that 36% of consumers reduced their bread intake in the last five years.
Less bread, other habits
According to Dominique Anract, president of the CNBPF, “One of the threats is the fact that young people are losing the habit of buying a baguette every day”. The daily gesture of going to the bakery, which was previously automatic, has become less frequent. “In the past, even students cooked for themselves. There were no snacks, no ‘international food’, no hamburgers, kebabs or sushi. But more and more young people are opting for fast food”, he explains.
At the same time, a growing phenomenon is emerging: the so-called neo-bakeries. These spaces favor ancestral grains, organic flours and long natural fermentations. In many cases, they produce fewer baguettes or none at all. Seize Heures Trente Pâtisserie-Boulangerie in Rennes has deliberately chosen not to sell baguettes.
Pastry chef Marion Juhel explains the decision: “It’s true that the French expect a bakery to have baguettes. And the fact that we declared ourselves a bakery and didn’t have them was inconceivable to them.” Alternatively, the bakery offers large, aromatic breads, sold by weight, which last several days and help reduce waste. “They simply taste better,” adds Juhel.
In Paris, Benoît Castel, one of the pioneers of the modern bread movement, followed a similar logic. Since 2012, he has transformed rustic naturally fermented breads into signature products, and his pain du coin has become the best seller in his bakeries. “From the beginning I wanted to make these large, more traditional breads, like they were made in the past”, explains Castel.
The baker also remembers that baguettes only appeared in the 20th century, as an alternative to pains de garde, breads that lasted all week. To reduce waste, Castel also created pain d’hier et de demain, made with the previous day’s stock, maintaining flavor and texture practically the same as fresh bread.
Tradition, price and adaptation
Not everyone shares the same enthusiasm. Éric Kayser, owner of a chain of hundreds of bakeries around the world, warns about the costs. “The problem is that this bread is much more expensive. It is not accessible to everyone”, he highlights.
A simple baguette costs around one euro, a traditional artisan baguette costs €1.30, while a special loaf sold by weight can cost more than seven euros for half a kilo. Kayser remembers, however, that “The purpose of a baguette is to feed a lot of people. They are more elitist bakeries. There is nothing wrong with that, but it corresponds to a certain type of middle-class customer.”
Despite the decline in consumption, Kayser does not fear for the baguette’s survival. The popularity of the baguette sandwich, which began to grow in the late 1990s, helped offset the decline in individual sales. “Not in a million years. People love it”, he assures. According to the Federation of Bakery Entrepreneurs, 86% of French people consume industrialized white bread, mainly because of its durability and practicality.
For Dominique Anract, the presence of neo-bakeries and the creativity of bakers such as Muhel, Castel and Kayser reflect the sector’s historical capacity to adapt. “We need to adapt. Bakeries have always gone through crises, but we have always reinvented ourselves”, he concludes. The French tradition remains, but the bread is no longer always the same.
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