It is as iconic a sight in Paris as the Eiffel Tower. Outside at the sidewalk cafe, wicker bistro chairs and tables invite passersby to linger and join in the people-watching. Inside, strangers mill around the bar, making small talk over sour espressos and glasses of wine.
But for the past 15 years, caffeinated imports from distinctly English-speaking countries have overwhelmed Parisian cafes and bistros, or specialty coffee shops. With their carefully curated aesthetics, artisanal cuisine, and rapid growth, coffee shops increasingly command the attention, time, and euros of not only Parisians but also the millions of international travelers who visit the French capital each year. Some say it is.
Since the first wave of niche coffee shops opened in France in the early 2010s, the number has increased by 74% to 3,500 across France, with new coffeehouses now opening every week, according to industry group Collectif Café. It is said that there is
“Do coffee shops pose a danger to us? The answer is yes,” said Le Mesture, a bistro in the 2nd arrondissement that has been petitioning the French government for six years to protect cafes and bistros as a special cultural heritage site. said owner Alain Fontaine. They received it in September. “In the long term, businesses like ours could be shut down,” he says.
Parisian cafes and bistros have faced competition from fast food and coffee chains (particularly Starbucks), home coffee machines (particularly Nespresso), food delivery services, reduced alcohol consumption, remote working, and changing consumption habits. have faced.
In the 1960s, France had approximately 200,000 bistros and cafes across the country. (The distinction between cafes and bistros has blurred over time; both serve food and drinks.) Today, that number has dwindled to about 40,000, Fontaine said.
The post-pandemic years saw a huge growth in specialty coffee shops, with some new locations offering takeout only and others offering laptop access. Many are similar in design, small and minimalist, often with a Scandinavian aesthetic. There are also shops selling flowers and vintage items, as well as shops inspired by Asian ingredients.
Much of their early success can be attributed to the growing awareness among connoisseurs that the pitch-black, bitter espresso served in Parisian cafes can be surprisingly unpleasant.
Yves Bantman, 49, a researcher at a Parisian think tank, stops at a local cafe every morning before work and slips into the Zinc Bar, where she jokes with the staff and patrons, including street cleaners and hospital staff. . louver. Buntman values the sense of community there. But while his friends are knocking back espressos for 1.40 euros (about $1.45), Buntman is drinking Perrier.
“About 15 people come every morning, and it's packed,” she said. “And coffee is such a disaster that I can't drink it.”
This morning's break is for good company, but to get some caffeine, Buntman buys a 3-euro cortado or piccolo to-go at his favorite coffee shop before heading to the office.
coffee
Australian and American expatriates, along with a well-travelled French entrepreneur, open the doors of their first coffee shop and build an on-site roastery, producing milky flat whites, cortados, and expertly brewed espressos. Introduced Parisians to other beverages made with.
Tom Clark, an Australian who opened the first Coutume Café store on the Left Bank in 2011, said he recognized an opportunity to improve Paris' coffee scene.
“We found that French culture is perfectly aligned with specialty coffee culture,” he said. “They really value the concept of terroir, where the product comes from, like wine and cheese.”
On a recent afternoon, a line of coffee lovers, including Salome Bravar, 24, lined up at Partisan Café Artisanal, a coffee house popular with fashion and creative industry figures in the Upper Marais. As I was doing this, Sade-san cried out above my head.
Bravard, a fashion photographer, said she prefers meeting friends at coffee shops rather than cafes. That's because the atmosphere is friendlier, the aesthetic is more pleasing, and of course the coffee is better.
“Our generation needs to go to places where they can have coffee and take pictures and share them on social networks,” she said. “People over 40 aren't necessarily looking for that.”
Coutume's Clark calls this younger generation “coffee natives.”
“We've been in business for 13 years, and I remember when a customer was 5 years old we gave away a free Babyccino,” he says of an order of warmed milk topped with foam and cocoa powder. said. “Now they're 18 years old.”
They grew up going to coffee shops with their parents and never knew life without latte art, he said.
culture
The importance of Parisian cafes in French culture cannot be overstated. In historic cafes such as Le Procope, Café de Flor, and Les Deux Magots, philosophers, artists, writers, intellectuals, and revolutionaries debated, created groundbreaking artistic movements, and hatched plans to overthrow the French monarchy. I practiced.
French writer Honoré de Balzac is said to have described the counter of a cafe as a “people's assembly,'' a democratic space where people from all political backgrounds and classes sit side by side.
On a quiet weekday morning at Café Ventura, the main server, a gray-haired man in his 50s, and a young bartender with a mustache were performing a two-person play based on their conversations with the patrons and each other. I found out right away.
When an elderly woman entered a cafe in the Pigalle neighborhood, she was greeted with warmth and reassurance. The comments were furious.
“Oh, there you are,” said one of the waiters.
“We were worried,” said another.
“I'm not dead,” she quipped, without missing a beat.
Cafes have long fostered a sense of community in France. Last September, French Culture Minister Rashida Dati also recognized this and included the bistro and cafe in the country's Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory, which aims to protect and promote French social customs and artisanal know-how.
The petition filed by Fontaine, owner of Le Mestulet Bistro, states that “bistros and cafes are distinguished by the quality of their personalized service, creating a unique atmosphere. It is characterized by rich interactions between owners, waiters and customers.
In modern sociological terminology, cafes and bistros are the “third places” of Paris. It's a place for socializing away from work and home, where lonely seniors go to chat with bartenders, and where students and others escape from their small apartments.
Fontaine said there is a fear that over time, as younger generations turn to coffee shops, their role as the center of Parisian society will become obsolete.
“Coffee shops have no depth, no history, no patina,” he says.
contrarians
But coffee shops can also be community spaces.
At Café Girisin in the 2nd arrondissement, one of Paris' many Asian coffee shops, a line of people waits outside for soufflé cheesecake and matcha lattes. The interior is reminiscent of a rustic cottage, with bookshelves lined with titles in Korean and French and a faux fireplace flickering in the corner.
Owner Hera Hong, who lives in South Korea, said, “When I go to a cafe, I imagine a warm atmosphere, but I want to feel safe.'' “What I want to see is people staying and knitting and reading books, like at grandma's house.”
Not all cafe managers share Fontaine's concerns. Café Ventura manager Jerome Martinho said those concerns were unfounded.
“I don't think our customer base is the same,” he said, noting that coffee shops cater to a niche market, whereas cafes offer a larger selection of food, coffee and alcohol in the same space. He added that he believes that the company is providing this service.
Many of the customers who head straight to cafe bars, where espresso is cheaper than table service, are blue-collar workers looking for a quick and cheap source of caffeine, he said.
In 2020, researcher Buntman wrote a paper published in Anthropology and Society arguing that the rapid growth of coffeehouses led to the reinvention of French elitism.
In a recent interview, she elaborated on the topics she supports, including the price of coffee (specialty coffee costs over 5 euros, while an espresso at a coffee bar costs between 1 and 1.50 euros), classes and education. . The level of patrons and owners of these establishments. He said customers at coffee shops tend to be college-educated, but those drinking at cafe counters may not be.
Age is also a crucial difference. This cafe has traditionally been a democratic town hall for all, but the younger generation seems to be heading elsewhere.
Buntman joked that he was on a mission to convert cafe bartenders into baristas, combining the best of both worlds. “It would be great if I could help save French cafes.”