Whenever you think of France, most people’s mind eventually cycles through the stereotypical things we’ve been conditioned to associate it with: cheese, castles, Socialism, fast trains, wine and, of course, baguettes. I knew from my semester in Paris that baguettes were an essential part of everyday French life, with millions sold each day, but I have only recently come to realize just how important they are and how they can pop up in the most unexpected times.
A few of my favorite baguette sightings:
-While waiting for a tram, I saw a woman and man running down the street. That’s great, I thought to myself, I love seeing people going for runs. Then it hit me: what is that thing she’s carrying? Is that…yup, that’s a baguette. She’s running with a baguette. I guess when the craving strikes…
-A popular way for some of the poorer inhabitants of Montpellier to earn some money is to wash the windows of cars that stop at traffic lights. One day while walking by an intersection where this happens frequently, I noticed a woman telling some of the window washers that she wasn’t interested, but instead of just shooing them off she told them to wait while she searched for some change. Not finding any handy, she nonchalantly reached into her back seat and pulled out- you guessed it- a baguette. In France, baguettes are as good as cash.
-Americans aren’t the only people that buy in bulk. Multiple times I’ve seen people walking out of bakeries with brown paper bags the size of a small child filled with at least a dozen baguettes. Where are they taking them? To an office-wide meal? To a catered affair? Stocking up for the apocalypse? Your guess is as good as mine.
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