Bread: Sharing, exchanging, indispensable … This is how French people are commonly represented in people’s minds: a beret, a cigarette and a baguette under the arm. French people love bread so much that they are even ready to wait outside the bakery for a long time to get some. Bread is a symbol of our French gastronomy for nearly 80% of French people, just after cheese(87%) and wine (85%). SYMBOLISM AND PREJUDICES: how others see us…

Evolution of bread consumption in France  Beginning XXth century: very high consumption of bread: 600g per person per day against 130 g per person per day nowadays = very significant fall in bread consumption due to more diversity in food products and the industrialisation of bread. Bread is no more a product of survival but something that accompanies our meals. A law passed in 1993 bans additives and chemicals in bread. A traditional baking process through fermentation is required to get the label « Traditional French bread » = back to values of quality, tradition and taste  Today, bread is the oldest and the most popular food product: more than 9 people in 10 eat bread at least once a day and 84% buy bread once a week (Opinion Way survey)

Graph on bread consumption g per person and per day years

How much does a baguette cost? Price of bread on constant increase since Today, average price of 0,90 euros.

Some facts  2.3 billion Euros: annual sales made by bakeries in France every year.  150,000: number of employees who work in the profession.  35,000: number of sales points in France, most are traditional village bakeries (about 62%)

 10 billion : number of baguettes produced in France every year.  81: number of varieties of regional breads that are produced in France every year. There are so many different names that even French people can get confused! -La miche : about 1 kg -Le Parisien: about 400g -La flûte (found around Lyon): about 400g -La baguette: 250 g -Le bâtard: 250 g but shorter than a baguette -La ficelle: 100g (thin and long shape)

The different types of bread Brown bread with brown flour. Farmhouse loaf with rye flour or wheat flour. Organic bread with granary grown in organic agriculture. Rye bread with 2/3 of rye flour and 1/3 of wheat flour. Granary bread with wheat flour and granary like oats or seeds like sunflower.

Current trends  A week-long celebration of bread was created; it lasts for one week in the middle of May.  More and more people enjoy making their own bread thanks to bread making machines like this one.  More and more people want to buy organic bread. Organic bread and flour represent more than 10 % of sales, that is approximately 350 million euros; a juicy market!

Bread waste in France Bread is generally wasted in schools, for example: for 1,000 students, it’s about throwing an average of the equivalent of 7,500 bread sticks per year. Wasting bread is wasting water since it takes 1,000 liters of water to produce 1kg of flour.