00:00Now something rather different for you on the programme and for many of us nothing screams
00:05living in France more than meeting up at a cafe or a bistro and there is currently a bid for them
00:11to be added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. To tell us a bit more about
00:17this Solange Mongein with me in the studio. Hi Solange. Hi Nadia. Solange this might sound like
00:22a relatively obvious question but actually is a little bit complicated. First of all what actually
00:26is a French bistro. Well these places mean different things to different people and that
00:33living heritage or the patrimoine vivant as we say in French it is essential for any successful bid
00:40to UNESCO or to be included among the 849 cultural practices on its intangible heritage lists.
00:47And in a minute I'll get into the strengths and weaknesses of this bid notably the issue of
00:52alcohol. But there are some broad strokes about what these places are if we dive into bistro's
00:59history. First the word. It is one of those lucky few words that can be spelled multiple ways either
01:05ending with an O or an OT. As for its origin well it is a fun legend there is this fun legend
01:12that says that Russian soldiers who came to Paris and after the battle of Paris in 1814 they would go
01:19into establishments and say quick quick. But that probably is not the real origin. Rather it's
01:24possible that the word bistro came from terms for wine cellar's assistant or poor quality wine
01:31and also possibly from northern slang referring to hard alcohol being mixed with coffee. Now initially
01:38cafes such as the prokop they were seen as these places for intellectuals to discuss philosophical ideas.
01:44And then bistros quickly filled the need for workers to have a place to grab a quick bite or a drink.
01:50And over the decades they have become a place of friendship of living the good life and also a social
01:56equalizer of sorts as well.
01:59Drink a good glass of wine eat a bite. It's a certain atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship.
02:05We're here to welcome everyone. All races, ethnicities and creeds. You don't need your baptism
02:13certificate to order. We're here to welcome everyone.
02:17And so Solange tell us then what is the difference between a bistro, a cafe, a brasserie or even
02:24just a restaurant and are these all up for the UNESCO status?
02:28Well today the terms for places where people eat and drink they're sometimes interchangeable.
02:33In addition to bistros and cafes which often serve at all hours you have PMU's which stands for Paris
02:40Mutuel Urbain. It's a bedding company. And these are generally less fancy cafes where you can make
02:46bets on horses for example. They are also part of this UNESCO bid. And then there are the other terms.
02:53The brasseries originally with Alsatian roots they were more for drinking beer than wine and today
02:59they're often a bit more formal than bistros. Then of course there are the traditional restaurants or
03:04restos as people say in French which are generally open only during meal times. Already the gastronomical ones
03:13in France they have been granted this UNESCO status. There are also bouillons which actually are booming right now here in
03:20Paris. These are big these are a bit bigger places with traditional basic fare that serve many at a
03:27relatively low cost. And then of course my favorite the bris bris which are holes in the walls places to
03:34eat. Now all most of these they are not part of the UNESCO bid. It is actually just the association of
03:41cafes, bistros and PMU's that are going to try and prove by December 2026 that they are a particularly French
03:48living heritage. And Solange this push though actually it's not the first time it's happened is it? No it isn't. In 2018
03:54there was already a campaign to have France's bistros and cafe culture as the nation's pick. But the culture ministry
04:02they chose to go with practices like baguette making and zinc roofing instead. But this time it looks like it could be a
04:11favorite.
04:11This magnificent French team which fought hard to secure UNESCO recognition for the baguette
04:19is the same French team that wants to fight for France's cafes and bistros
04:24so that they too are fully recognized by UNESCO. And that is the fight we want to lead.
04:32Now above all this is a positive public relations push as these things generally are. But as Michael
04:38mentions it is also a fight and it is a two-fold fight. First in regards to UNESCO to prove that
04:43there is this vibrant cultural aspect cafes and bistros. Ones that are specifically French. And then
04:49there is the fight to safeguard them. In France today many argue that bistros and cafes are dying out.
04:55According to Lince in the early 1900s there were 500,000 of them in France. By the 1960s that number
05:02was halved and today there are fewer than 40,000 left. And that tendency of closing down is actually
05:09accelerating. Why? Well people's habits are changing. They now have food delivery. They drink coffee at
05:16the office or work from home. Then of course there's the rising costs for eateries but also
05:22for households. And then there is also the huge decrease in alcohol consumption over the past century.
05:27Okay well let's talk about alcohol then. Solange. Could it hurt the UNESCO bid?
05:32Well I wouldn't go so far to say that it would tank it. But as bistros are places where people drink
05:39lots of things and also eat lots of different sorts of things. But we do have to keep in mind the weight
05:44of France's wine lobby and alcohol lobby in this push. By extension it is promoting them in this bid.
05:52However there are other aspects with beneficial health and happiness factors that are also at
05:58play. And that's the need to safeguard and promote places where people gather and physically gather.
06:04Specifically places in this isolating digital age where people of all walks of life gather.
06:10And Nipso's poll found that 91% of French people find that they need to create a social connection
06:15and that that need has become urgent. Another found that 75% of French people say cafes and restaurants
06:21are the best places to do that. So overall there is a lot of there are a lot of positive things
06:26to say about bistros and cafes and how above all they are an invitation to all of us to enjoy life
06:33and one another. All right well good luck to France for that bid. Thank you very much indeed for breaking
06:38it down for us. Slash Mujan for us there.
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