The number of Paris cafes is declining year by year. French cafes apply for intangible cultural heritage.

Paris is a romantic city. Last year, at the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games, France deeply imprinted Paris on the minds of the people of the world. Many years ago, France conducted a survey of tourists and concluded that cafes are the most charming place in the romantic capital of Paris. People sit in imitation rattan chairs on both sides of the Seine, drink the full-bodied cup of coffee, talk to their friends, or have an intimate conversation with their partners.

However, the cafes in Paris are disappearing one by one and are experiencing a critical period of survival. According to a study by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the number of cafes in the three provinces on the outskirts of Paris has decreased by 40% in the past 20 years. It has dropped from 1970 in 2002 to 1410 today, and this is only traditional cafes, not including tobacco shops that provide coffee.

In fact, the cafe has already been engraved in the genes of Paris. In Enlightenment France, the first coffee shop in Paris, Cafe Procope, was established. A group of famous French philosophers, such as Voltaire and Rousseau, sat in the cafe and talked loudly over coffee. The cafe even became the revolutionary base of the French Revolution, and the battle horn for the capture of the Bastille was sounded at the Cafe de Foy in Paris. After the Revolution, the cafes in Paris still provide a warm harbor for many literary creators. Cafes have become part of the art of French life.

However, the harbor is no longer as lively and warm as before, but more deserted and lonely. The centre of Paris has been less affected. In districts 2 and 3, the number of cafes has increased by 17% and 15% respectively over the past 20 years, which is related to the increase in the number of tourists in central Paris, while Paris I is an exception, where the number of cafes has decreased by 46%. This is attributed to the fact that the renovation of some large buildings has produced many construction sites, reducing the attractiveness of the area.

The decrease in the number of offline coffee shops has something to do with changes in people's consumption habits. France implemented the 35-hour work week in 2000, and consumers spend much less time in cafes due to the shortening of their lunch break. With the arrival of the COVID-19 epidemic, only staff remained in the cafe for a time, coupled with a series of restrictions introduced by the government, many cafes' turnover was greatly reduced, suffering, and even closed down.

As a result of the epidemic, the chances of being equipped with coffee machines in offices and homes have greatly increased, and you don't have to go to cafes to meet this demand when you want to drink coffee, further draining the cafe's passenger traffic. Marcel Benetzer, a member of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, points out that turnover in restaurants and cafes in Paris has shrunk by nearly 50% since telecommuting and banning standing consumption in catering institutions.

Xu Zhimo once said, "if there are no cafes in Paris, I am afraid it will become nothing cute." Cafes in Paris are being hit hard, and before the outbreak, the legendary two-hundred-year-old cafe caught fire. Now research has come to the conclusion that the number of Paris cafes is decreasing year by year, or even 40% in 20 years. Unlike today's common take-and-go coffee culture, the lifestyle of ordering a cup and sitting all day is on its way to extinction. Without these, perhaps Paris is becoming unlovely.

As the earliest social network in France, cafes have long been the art of French life. The French industry has set up a special association, which tried to submit applications to the Ministry of Culture twice in 2019 and 2021. It is hoped that French open-air caf é s and pubs will be listed as UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage. 2022 has arrived, and the association plans to resubmit its application this year, which French President Jean-Claude Macron also supports.

Maybe one day, you can take off your mask, sit in the French non-relics and taste the Italian non-relics.

Photo Source: Internet

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