Here%26#39;s something I%26#39;ve been curious about and will pose at local Parisians on TA. I%26#39;ll be leaving for my 3rd trip to Paris this week (very excited)... but I was wondering why, on my previous 2 trips, each time I%26#39;ve entered a boulangerie and purchased a baguette, the shopkeeper always handed me the bread with only a small piece of waxed paper wrapped around the middle? Since my french is extremely limited... I%26#39;ve had to make a big show to request a paper sack/bag, or have a local help me out.
Do they presume I will be eating it on the spot? How come the other customers normally get the baguette %26quot;to go%26quot;? Should I specifically ask for a bag?
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Why do you want a bag? The assumption is that you will eat your baguette when it%26#39;s very fresh, that you will walk home and have it with your next meal, you are not going to store it or anything. So the piece of paper is so you can hold it while you walk home without getting it dirty from your hands. Seems a very effective, ecologically sound approach to me. In the UK we are having to campaign very actively for less of the ridiculous packaging that shops force on us - cucumbers in plastic, fruit in foam, it%26#39;s all such a great waste. Supermarkets are finally beginning to listen.
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YOu could ask %26quot;Avez-vous un sac?%26quot;
But the typical way is the little paper in the center...
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Some boulangeries use paper bags, some of them (I would say a majority) just wrap a piece of paper around it. I can think of a few reasons: first of all, price. When you buy a baguette (for often less than 1€) a paper bag is relatively expensive at €0.05 or more; and a plastic bag can cost much more.
Another reason (but probably not the main one) could be the environment: every Frenchman eats (on average) 153 baguettes per year. There are 65 million Frenchmen - a piece of paper weighs 2-3 grammes, a paper bag weighs 5-10 grammes. If everyone would use a (new) paper bag instead of a piece of paper, there would be 20,000 to 80,000 metric tonnes more waste per year...
And: most people buy their bread close to home - there are boulangeries everywhere. They don%26#39;t walk for miles with it, and some have a shopping bag.
But of course, you can always ask for %26quot;un sac%26quot;... or go to a supermarket. I think most supermarkets sell their baguettes in a bag.
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I%26#39;m no expert, but it seems to me that if I buy a baguette for .85 euro I get the small paper wrapper, but if I buy la tradition for 1.30 euro I get a nice sleeve/bag. In either case, if you buy two or three things they will offer a plastic or paper shopping bag.
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Why not aim to be ecologically friendly, recycle, and take your OWN bag. After all, a plastic carrier tucked in your pocket don%26#39;t take up much room n%26#39;est ce pas??
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On our first %26#39;real%26#39; trip to Paris (on our own, not a tour), hubby asked boulangerie for %26#39;un sac%26#39; for the baguette and the reply was a firm %26quot;non%26quot;. So there you go, it isn%26#39;t %26#39;done%26#39;. Same trip, we bought premade salads at a boulangerie - he asked for %26#39;le sel et poivre%26#39;... answer? %26quot;non - - eet%26#39;s eeen thayr%26quot; (pointing at the salad). We actually loved that; to this day I sometimes use that response myself.
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thanks for all the responses. yes, typical american i am, not thinking about the environmental aspect of all the bags that would be used, considering the consumption of baguetts! since we are tourists in paris, we rarely grab a baguette to take home and eat with dinner. it%26#39;s usually to nibble on immediately and throughout the day as we sightsee... thus the bag request. also, i had gotten into the habit of bringing my own shopping bags along with me... a habit i picked up after my 1st trip to paris.
anyway, these responses are a great little glimpse into french/european culture. thanks!
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One thing I%26#39;ve noticed along these lines, kind of. It is apparently OK to by a baguette or a sandwich or a crepe and take it to a cafe, order a drink and sit there and eat the food with your drink. Did I notice something that is OK or something that a waiter just didn%26#39;t bother with?
Thanks
Pjk
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I wouldn%26#39;t bring anything to a cafe to eat if the cafe sold anything remotely like it.
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I%26#39;m not sure that any Parisian arrives home from their local boulangerie with much more of a fresh baguette left...than what%26#39;s covered by the paper-wrapper. How often have you ever seen someone walking along (a satisfied expression on their face) with a baguette that didn%26#39;t have one or both %26#39;ends%26#39; torn off ?? Ya%26#39; didn%26#39;t think they baked %26#39;em that way, did ya%26#39;?
Some boulangeries may have bags available, if you request one. But...next time you%26#39;re in your local bakery at home, just ask for an extra bag or two and tuck it in your travel tote or pack and bring it along with you....et voila.....
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