Every year since 1994, Le Grand Prix de la Baguette takes place: a competition that relies on a jury of baking pros and six randomly chosen Parisians to determine the city’s best baguette. These lucky bread lovers get to eat baguettes all day long — judging each loaf for taste, texture, smell, and aesthetics — and the winning boulangerie (bakery) gets a line around the block and national notoriety.
Bonus bread fact: According to the BBC, the country’s official Observatoire du Pain (Bread Observatory — told you they love their bread) reports that the French consume 320 baguettes every second, which works out to be an average of half a baguette per human, per day. Pass the butter, please!
