What is France without fresh baguettes from the boulangerie?
Well, it would continue to be a very nice country with lots to offer. But STILL, the famous bread sticks are a huge part of the French food culture, which is why the world has been sent into an absolute tizz at the news that Parisians could soon be facing a shortage.
Why? Well, for the first time since the French Revolution, Paris-based bakeries will be allowed to shut for the Summer whenever they want, whereas previously they were legally required to inform authorities of when they were closing.
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Thanks to a law that was passed in 1790, boulangerie owners were forced to take their Summer breaks at staggered times - with half shutting in July and the remaining half in August - in order to avoid a cultural nightmare such as THIS ONE right now happening, and there being a shortage of freshly baked baguettes.
Bakers who closed were also required to display a notice on their doors and windows, informing customers where else they could go to get their baked goods, and were fined if they didn't follow the rules.
But now that law has been abolished, as part of a Government initiative to 'cut the red tape' - or get rid of rigid and widely deemed redundant policies which prevent autonomy. And we're unsure whether they saw this as an inevitable consequence.
Fingers crossed sights like this won't be a thing of the past.
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One resident, Lynn Segal, wrote about her experience on Facebook, saying: 'I went out to get a baguette a few days ago and the two closest boulangeries to me were both closed for the first time ever.
'Then the next day a woman on the street stopped me asking where the closest one [still open] was. Only the 'bad' ones stayed open.'
So we'll be keeping our fingers crossed that Paris doesn't turn into a desert of baguettes, and that come September residents and tourists alike will be showered with those delicious French sticks once more.
