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The French

baguette

, one of the culinary and social emblems of that country, was inscribed this Wednesday on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

With a crispy crust and spongy crumb

, the

baguette

is a relatively recent product: it appeared

at the beginning of the 20th century in Paris

.

It is currently the most consumed bread in all of France.

Some 6 billion

baguettes

are sold each year

, which means that some 12 million consumers order them in bakeries every day.

Each bar weighs approximately 250 grams.

More than the product itself,

Unesco rewards with this distinction the

savoir-faire

, the particular way of making, kneading and baking this loaf of bread that has suffered, like so many other French culinary successes, from the abuses of industrialization.

This inscription "also celebrates a whole culture: a daily ritual, an

element that structures meals

, a synonym of exchange and coexistence", reacted the director general of Unesco, Audrey Azoulay.

"It is a recognition for the community of bakers and pastry chefs," explained Dominique Anract, president of the French Confederation that brings together these "artisans" of flour and yeast.

The award is a

recognition of traditional bakeries

, which have been closing in France, particularly in the countryside.

In 1970 there were some 55,000 artisan bakeries (one for every 790 inhabitants) compared to 35,000 today (one for every 2,000 inhabitants), according to data from the Ministry of Culture.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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