Published on 02/11/2024 21:15
Updated on 02/11/2024 21:28
Reading time: 1min – video: 4min
Cafés and Bistros: a French art of living classified as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity
The bistro is a symbol of the French art of living. It has just been classified as intangible cultural heritage, with the idea of preserving a way of life that is threatened in rural areas, as in large French cities.
(France 2)
The bistro is a symbol of the French art of living. It has just been classified as intangible cultural heritage, with the idea of preserving a way of life that is threatened in rural areas, as in large French cities.
Still at the same table, Brigitte finds Alain and Patrick. The three of them met in a bistro around ten years ago. “Coming like this, almost every day, with other people who are used to it, we eventually rub shoulders, talk to each other, form a table and can have very friendly exchanges”explains one of them.
Conviviality, meetings, sharing, this is what customers are looking for at least as much as good meals, careful home-cooked but unpretentious cuisine. Well before lunch, the bistro comes alive at 7 a.m. It is a place open to all and even a factory for living together with diverse audiences.
In rural French areas, bistros are disappearing. However, it is sometimes a central place within small villages. On average, there remains one bistro per commune in France, a living heritage which remains to be defended.
Watch the full report in the video above
