The only rentrée that matters

Here in Paris we are all settling into the rentrée, when everyone comes back from their vacation. On the TV we find serious discussions of education and books. In the cafés we find those who didn't go away bitching about how much more traffic there is now and what a pity Paris can't always be as empty as it was in August.

None of these elements of la rentrée really matter, though. Only one thing matters: When does your bakery reopen? Mine, for instance, didn't reopen until the 3rd. Until then I had to rely on my various emergency backup bakeries (provided they weren't on vacation as well). Life without my baguette Saint Antoine? The horror!

There are laws about these things, you understand. If you are a baker, you can't just go on vacation any old time. No way. You have to follow the rules. Bakers in France work for the social good, much like doctors, say, and they are regulated to a similar extent, it seems.

As the Chambre Professionnelle des Artisans Boulangers-Pâtissiers for the Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Val-de-Marne explains, "La réglementation en matière de boulangerie est complexe et précise. Elle n'a pas été mise en place pour contraindre mais pour protéger et maintenir une certaine solidarité entre boulangers." ("The rules governing bakeries are complex and precise. They are not put in place to constrain but rather to protect and maintain a certain solidarity between bakers.")

For example, there are rules about what, indeed, deserves to be called a "bakery" (the dough must be mixed, risen, formed, and baked on the premises). Prices must be displayed per loaf and per kilogram, with the weight of the loaves clearly marked.

As for summer vacation, the bakeries in an area are divided in two groups, with each taking their vacation alternate years either in July or August.

Equally important is the day or days off during the week. These must be calibrated so that not every bakery in a neighborhood is closed on the same day. If a baker wishes to change their day or days off, they must go through the procedure detailed in the flowchart below to petition for a change.



The very existence of this flowchart has me just tickled. Bread and bureaucracy. Doesn't get much more French than this.