Heroes Not Zombies

Does any country in the world have as many independent bakeries as France? The “boulangerie” is an absolute staple of life here. Even small towns where most commerce has disappeared often still have a boulangerie. The small village where I used to live had only two businesses, both supported by the community through the “Mairie”….a boulangerie and a hairdresser.

One of the things which has always struck me about boulangeries is that most of them are independent and/or family businesses. The baker produces the daily bread and that’s his (or less frequently, her) working life. Even a successful baker isn’t likely to buy up other boulangeries in other towns to create a bakery empire.

I don’t have the figures and of course there are factory bakers who have industrialised the process and sell via supermarkets or franchises but this model of a respected, skilled, “artisan” (a word used in France to describe skilled workers), earning a living from their small business seems strong here. In some cases these family businesses pass down through generations.

It strikes me this is a different model from that of mass production and mass consumption. It’s more human. And it’s more respected. Long term relationships develop over many years between these workers and their customers. They live in the same town together, their children go to the same schools, they know each other.

It’s a very different model from the profit maximising, dash for growth and short term success one which seems so dominant in most of society. It’s local, stable and integrated into the community. It’s human sized. In fact I often think of Schumacher’s “Small is Beautiful” when I go into these boulangeries.

It’s about focusing on human beings, not on profits and “growth”. The growth these artisans experience is of skill, maturity and human connections. It’s a way of life.