French cafes are places where keys are thrown, problems are discussed and different social classes come together. But changes in coffee culture are shaking the country like strong espresso.
The "Brooklynization" of cafes means more coffee being served in to-go cups, a plethora of co-working spaces and the closure of rural cafes. In the last half century, the number of famous French cafes has decreased from around 200,000 to 40,000. French President Emmanuel Macron recently approved a 150 million euro ($165 million) rescue plan to save 1,000 cafes in small French towns.
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How important is it for people to have a place to meet? In France, where legendary cafes are in decline, customers and politicians alike are trying to cling to a culture that promotes camaraderie.
Still, French café culture is far from dead: French and foreign owners and customers want to keep it alive, even if that means adapting to new ways of operating.
"French cafes are extremely important places to meet other people, talk freely and socialize," says Josette Halégoi, a psychosociologist at Collective Imagination.
Old movie posters hang on the walls of Café Parisien. The colorful tiled floor is cracked in places and the bar is in need of a makeover. WiFi is spotty. But owner Zehor Ouaaz isn't planning any renovations.
"There are things we could fix, the floor, the bar, but we want to keep the spirit of the café, its old-fashioned feel," says Ms. Ouaaz over a plate of quiche and salad. "That's part of its charm."
For 10 years, Mrs. Ouaaz and her husband Redah owned Café Parisien in the 19th century.hedistrictof Paris, in an increasingly upscale neighborhood. But while the clientele has changed over the years, Ms. Ouaaz wants his cafe to remain in the area.
why do we write this
How important is it for people to have a place to meet? In France, where legendary cafes are in decline, customers and politicians alike are trying to cling to a culture that promotes camaraderie.
"We are a place where people can relax, have fun and feel welcome," says Ms. Ouaaz. "All types of customers are welcome here... We are a cultural melting pot."
French cafes like Café Parisien are more than just a place for a strong espresso. Customers often use neighborhood cafes to leave keys with trusted owners, deliver packages or find the name of a local electrician. And in rural areas, the local coffee shop is often the only place outside of work and home to meet and chat, play the lottery or read the paper.
But increasingly, iconic French cafes are changing or disappearing. The "Brooklynization" of cafes means more coffee being served in to-go cups, a plethora of co-working spaces and the closure of rural cafes. Over the past half-century, the number of cafes has shrunk from around 200,000 to 40,000, according to France's largest hospitality union, UMIH. French President Emmanuel Macronrecently approvedA €150 million ($165 million) rescue plan to save 1,000 cafes in small French towns.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Personal/Archive
Parisian diners share a meal at a cafe on April 12, 2016. Owners have adapted to changing cafe culture in a number of ways, including asking customers who spend hours working remotely to buy a drink every hour and at lunchtime to make room for lunch. Visitor.
The closure of cafes and the search for new customers has changed the way cafe owners do business, some tend to embrace changing habits and others remain firm in their desire to cling to the past. Still, French cafe culture is far from dead. The owners, French and foreign customers, want to keep it alive, even if that means seeing it in a new way.
"French cafes are extremely important places to meet other people, talk freely and socialize," says Josette Halégoi, a psychosociologist and executive director of the Mimèsis International Research Institute in Paris. “They have undergone a major transformation over the years, but they still hold a very important place in our collective imagination.”
"Neighborhood Life"
Antoine Palerme sips an espresso as his giant Beauceron Shepherd rests comfortably on the floor of the Café Parisien. Mr. Palerme has been frequenting the cafe since moving to the neighborhood in 1979. He always came here for a night out when he was younger, but now he comes to chat with other regulars and compete with his neighbor in the daily crossword puzzle.
"This place isn't just a cafe, it's the life of the neighborhood," says Palerme. "If the doors are closed, it means someone has died."
Mr. Palerme says that his choice of coffee depends a lot on the atmosphere of the place, and in particular on the owner, Ms. Ouaaz, who always answers with a smile. The owners have an important role, not only serving the drinks, but also serving as intermediaries for people in the community, who can be from different social classes, says psycho-sociologist Dona Halégoi.
“Coffee shop owners talk to customers, connect with other people who may need a service, like a plumber, for example,” says Dona Halégoi. “But new chains like Starbucks don't have a visible owner. You walk in, sit down and never socialize.”
France has seen a slew of Starbucks-like chains and coworking cafes in recent years, especially in Paris as the culture of startups and freelancers takes hold. Some rooms are billed by the hour or month and offer a work desk, coffee and snacks. But they often come with a hefty price tag that can be prohibitively expensive for freelancers. In Paris, the average nightly rate for a coworking space is around €25 ($27) or €400 ($440) a month.
Instead, many turn to local coffee shops to find community while they work, or to escape small apartments or kids at home, without breaking the bank. While they need the business, the owners have adapted to the cultural shift in many ways.
To compensate for peak hours, L'Estampe, a cafe overlooking the vast Buttes-Chaumont park, is asking customers to buy a drink every hour and leave at noon to make room for lunchtime customers. . Across the street, Le Pavillon des Canaux, which bills itself as a "co-office," allows the computers to stay open, but only at certain times to maintain a pleasant cafeteria atmosphere.
Thibault Camus/AP
Waiter Didier Hubert polishes a mirror at the Au Petit Fer a Cheval cafe in Paris on September 19, 2019.
Not everyone is happy about it. As one Facebook critic wrote: “Today you are asking us to shut down our computers. Are you asking us to stop knitting tomorrow? With the phone? Reading? We pay for our consumption and we should have the right to do what we want”.
A change in the country too
Beyond cities, rural cafes are becoming an endangered species as small towns fight back.economic stagnation and urbanization. More than 25,000 rural communities currently lack a local coffee shop, UMIH reports.
Groupe SOS, a French nonprofit, hopes to buck the trend with its 1,000 cafes initiative, which since mid-September has been asking local mayors of towns with fewer than 3,500 residents to apply to be one of the 1,000 for support. reopen your local coffee shop.
"Little by little, small towns are losing their cafes, their schools and other services," says Jean-Marc Borello, president of Groupe SOS, which had already received 400 applications in the first two weeks of the program's launch. “This initiative will allow cities to establish themselves and have a dignified social life. Cafes are needed to bring small towns to life.”
Also, building more cafes could help quell some of the anger and social unrest unleashed by the gilet jaunes movement, which saw demonstrators across France protest regional and social inequalities, taxes and wage increases. Mr. Borello suggests that providing spaces for residents to voice their grievances to other community members can help keep them from taking to the streets.
"Cafés have always played a very important role in rural areas," says Monique Eleb, a psychologist and sociologist at the Ecole d'Architecture Paris-Villemin and author of Paris, Société de Cafés. "[Coffee shops in general] allow for discussion, the free flow of ideas, the mixing of social classes... and in small towns, when the local coffee shop disappears, it creates a great lack of camaraderie."
Preserve the “human quality”
As urban cafe owners, trying to break out of the cozy neighborhood with change taking place across France.small restaurantwhere everyone knows your name for a culture of working together, only a few have made it.One is Le Café Zephyr, a dimly lit café with an Art Deco vibe 10 minutes from Paris's Buttes Chaumont park. While some customers are busy typing away on their computers, many are sitting with friends, reading the newspaper or chatting with the server.
In addition to many French people, some foreigners are also hoping that coffee culture will survive. Frank Oteri, a New York-based songwriter and music journalist, says he often frequents cafes like Zephyr to meet up with colleagues or friends. “I like places with character, a history…places that keep everyone going,” he says. "I also love strong coffee."
Back at the Café Parisien, Mrs. Ouaaz prepares napkins and cutlery for the midday rush. The few people at their computers aren't being asked to leave, but she says she won't be installing any more plugs in the wall or adding soy milk to her drink menu.
"Everyone is welcome here... but I don't have a demand for something like this," she says. "We really want to maintain the human quality of coffee."