France’s beloved baguette has been put on UNESCO’s cultural heritage list, the United Nations’ cultural agency announced Wednesday.
“New entry on the List of #PatrimoineImmatériel: Artisanal know-how and the culture of baguette bread. Congratulations to France,” the agency wrote on Twitter.
This “celebrates the French way of life: the baguette is a daily ritual, a structuring element of the meal, synonymous with sharing and conviviality,” said UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay.
France’s Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak celebrated by posting a video from bakeries sharing their baguette recipes. She wrote that “morning, noon and evening, the baguette is part of the daily life of the French,” adding that the decision is a “great recognition for our artisans and the unifying places that are our bakeries!”
The Intangible Cultural Heritage list includes around 600 traditions from more than 130 countries, such as truffle hunting and extraction in Italy or the hand-made production of Christmas tree decorations in the Czech Republic.
The UNESCO committee met Wednesday in Rabat to vote on 54 new propositions to the list. Among the traditions accepted by the committee Wednesday are traditional tea processing techniques in China and St. Tryphon’s kolo (circle dance) from Croatia.
Earlier this year the agency added the making of borscht soup in Ukraine to its list of endangered heritage because of Russia’s war.
Nicolas Camut contributed reporting.