Yesterday, Christian Estrosi, the deputy mayor of Nice and President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, hosted the Federation of Master Bakers of the Alpes-Maritimes. It was an opportunity for him to extend his best wishes to the profession for 2016 around the traditional galette des rois.
“Your profession holds a special place in the hearts of the French”. With these words, Christian Estrosi emphasized the significance of this profession to the French people.
Indeed, with nearly 14 million visitors per day, the bakeries of France are an integral part of our daily lives. Christian Estrosi also remarked, “The first thing we want to know when we arrive somewhere in France is, ‘Is the baker’s baguette good?’ Bread is life.”
However, like all professions today, bakers and pastry chefs are going through quite a difficult period. And Claude Batel, president of the Federation of Master Bakers of the Alpes-Maritimes, emphatically noted: “Our profession lacks qualification. Apprenticeship must be brought back to the forefront. And our social charges are also too heavy.”
In any case, his words did not fall on deaf ears. Christian Estrosi took the opportunity to remind everyone that he will be presenting a law on apprenticeship on February 4th at the National Assembly. “In France, an apprentice costs 9,000 euros, whereas in Germany it costs less than 2,000 euros. I intend to correct this and to reestablish apprenticeship as a pathway of excellence,” he stated.
In the meantime, the guests present yesterday at the City Hall were able to enjoy a galette des rois specially prepared by master pastry chef Sébastien Blanc.
by Désiré Teivao
