Coffee shops are closely related to French Literature and Coffee Culture

After living in Paris for a while, you'll find that French people love cafes. Paris has many cafes famous for literature and art. Some critics even say that it was the café that created the history of modern French literature. This may be an exaggeration, but the centuries-old bond between cafés and French literature is obvious.

Alexis Geny, winner of this year's Goncourt Prize, France's top literary prize, admits that he wrote the novel "The Art of War" word by word in a cafe. "I couldn't write anything at home, only in the café was I inspired. Strangely enough, the noise and bustle of the café calmed me down."

Paris cafes are mainly distributed in Montmartre Heights, Saint-Germain and Montparnasse on the left bank of the Seine-Marne River.

The most famous cafe in Montmartre is the "Spirit Rabbit" cafe. Behind Sacre Coeur, it looked simple, with a wooden fence surrounding a low two-story building that resembled a small farmhouse. However, it was the birthplace of the French literary and artistic revolution at the beginning of the 20th century, and many artistic schools were born here. When night fell, Picasso, Max Jacobs, Apollinaire and many other painters and writers would come here to talk about art and creation.

Saint-Germain, on the left bank of the Seine-Marne River, is a neighborhood frequented by literati. The "Flower God","Lip" and "Double Couple" on the same street are the most famous cafes. Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Camus often met in the Café de la Flora to discuss existential literature.

Montparnasse is also known for its numerous literary cafes. Cafes such as "Lilac" and "Elite" are places frequented by poet Baudelaire, American writers Miller and Hemingway.

Many of these "literary youth" were once an indispensable part of the cafe, where they talked and interacted, and their thoughts and passions often collided with brilliant artistic sparks and created extraordinary works of art.

Today, even late at night, it is common to walk into these cafes and see well-known and unknown writers sitting in a corner writing. One quips that a cup of coffee in a café in Saint-Germain gives a glimpse of a day in Parisian literary life.

Cafes are closely linked to French literature. Coffee shops do not despise these poor writers who are financially strapped and spend little. Cafes such as Double Couple, Lip and Flower God also set up their own literary awards to reward and encourage young writers who immerse themselves in creation every year.

The French have made a survey of foreign travelers. When asked what is the most attractive thing about Paris, many people answered not the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and other scenic spots, but the cafes scattered in the streets of Paris.

Some people have compared cafes to the skeleton of France, saying that if they are taken apart, France will fall apart. Xu Zhimo once said,"If Paris lacks cafes, I'm afraid it will become loveless."