La Poste, France’s postal service, stated that the traditional French bread loaf “embodies a ritual, that of traveling to your bakery, a local business anchored in the regions, attracting twelve million consumers every day.”
La Poste stated that the production of six billion baguettes annually serves as confirmation of its iconic status in the French culinary heritage.
Stéphane Humbert-Basset designed the stamps, which are sold by the Paris-based stationery store Le Carré d’encre. The market contains a mere 594,000 duplicates, which are also available for purchase at post offices and other establishments that sell stamps in France.
Baguettes are an integral component of French culture. In fact, baguettes were included on the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO, the UN branch that promotes world peace through arts and culture, in 2022.
According to UNESCO, the baguette is the most frequently consumed and relished type of bread in France year-round.
Baguettes are composed of only four ingredients: flour, water, salt, and leaven or yeast. However, they have developed “modes of consumption and social practices that distinguish them from other varieties of bread,” such as daily visits to the bakery.