Give us this day, our daily bread...
- Oct 31, 2025
- 2 min read
In France, where "bread is life", what happens when the bakery closes? Few countries keep such extensive data around bakeries as France does. According to a 2017 government report, 73% of the French population lived within half a mile of a Boulangerie. Of course, in a country where 8-out-of 10 people live in largely urban areas, it is plainly not a city-dwellers problem. It is in rural France where the loss of the village bakery strikes like a family bereavement. For the purpose of the boulanger is not solely to bake baguettes and high-pile trays of buttery croissants. Their shops are meeting points - hubs of contact and community - barometers of village vibrancy and the backbone of our daily "bonjour".
