According to a recent article in the International Herald Tribune, French neighborhood cafés are suffering greatly with the current world-wide economic crisis. Apparently, many of these beloved cafés have closed their doors for good in recent years as their numbers have greatly decreased all over France and many more are at risk of extinction. Many French people have changed their habit of going to a café for apéritifs or coffee due to the ban on smoking in public places as well as due to lifestyle changes, generational differences (young people nowadays prefer Cokes and late-night drinking), personal health concerns and financial reasons. Many have become unemployed or are worried about stretching their euro cents to the end of the month and therefore, just don’t go anymore as they choose to have their coffee and before-dinner drinks at home.
I find that it is a shame. I remember how I would spend hours in Paris as a student at neighborhood cafés reading a book, doing homework, hanging out with friends crowded around a small table to chat or just observing the passersby as I had a coffee or drink. It was always interesting to watch the old men in cafés in small villages playing cards and having barrels of laughs or ‘eavesdrop’ on the gossiping ladies. It seems like the French café crisis is the beginning of the end of a major part of French culture and tradition.
Click here to read the International Herald Tribune article in English.
