The café – with its coveted outdoor seating, barmen serving espresso (usually at an usurious 2.50€), and prime people-watching locales – is a French institution. The idea of a Parisian café often conjures up images of waiters -black and white silhouettes- slithering in between groups of renowned philosophers, writers and thinkers like Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, with their silver serving platter in hand and a cheeky smile splashed across their faces. At least, that’s what I always imagined.
The reality, however, is much different. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were over 500,000 cafés in France – the kind where conversations and serendipitous meetings at the bar were daily occurrences, where there was more than just an exchange of legal addictive stimulants happening but a real construction of social connections. Debating with the barman was expected and a even a sign of life carrying on as usual. Today, there are only 38,000 cafés and it would seem they’re disappearing faster than the bees (though in truth, the latter is actually a serious threat to humanity. Sorry, Frenchies). A Barman – shot by Nathan Gray A recent study reported that 37% of French people think that cafés play an integral role…
