baguette has been added to UNESCO’s “intangible cultural heritage” list. The inclusion celebrates the French way of life and the baguette’s role in it.
baguette is a daily ritual, a structuring element of the meal, and synonymous with sharing and conviviality. The exact provenance of the baguette is not known, but it is believed to have originated in France. The baguette as we know it today was only officially named just over 100 years ago, in 1920.
rules about what classed as a baguette were put in place in 1920, including a fixed price until 1986. By the middle of the 20th Century, the baguette had won over the country. Since 1970, 400 artisanal bakeries have closed down each year, with the total number across France dropping from 55,000 to 35,000 today.
