1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: Oh, special announcement this week, folks. We are taking a 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:07,920 Speaker 1: little holiday and we are going to day. 3 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:09,920 Speaker 2: We're gonna celebrate. 4 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: We're gonna do a little classic episode here. We just 5 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: had such a good time. 6 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:22,799 Speaker 2: With us if we took a holiday. Uh yeah, something someerie. Yeah. 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 2: This episays about French. 8 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: Bread, Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio Bonjou. Welcome 9 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: to the show. My name is Ben and I just 10 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: might be addicted to carbs. 11 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 2: Jamappelle Noel and I've been trying to go a little 12 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 2: lighter on the carbs lately, but I am a big 13 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,400 Speaker 2: fan of a good baguet. Yes, agreed. 14 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: And here in the US we have a little bit 15 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,759 Speaker 1: more leeway with the definition of what a baguet is. 16 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: And despite how important carbs might be to knowl to 17 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: myself and to our super producer Casey Pegram, in France, 18 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: it turns out they're much more important. 19 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 2: Crucial, big time. That's why for two centuries there was 20 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 2: a law on the books in Paris that basically established 21 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 2: a continuous, free flowing access to bread. And this was 22 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 2: most important during the summer months when a lot of 23 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 2: Parisians take vacations and it's a big deal. Paris can 24 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 2: feel like a ghost town during July and August. And 25 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 2: this law was established because the last time that France 26 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 2: ran out of bread, well you know there there were 27 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 2: riots in the streets and people got decapitated and hanged. 28 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 1: Yes, there were rains of terrors that were related in 29 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: a way to bread. And for anyone who's interested in 30 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: the role that food can play in social revolution, we 31 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: promise you it's a real thing. You're not crazy. Butter 32 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: had a role to play in an earlier episode. 33 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 2: It's true, and bread's always been a pretty important staple 34 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 2: of the French diet. In fact, according to the Smithsonian, 35 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 2: the average worker during the eighteenth century spent half, that is, 36 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 2: half of their wages on bread because not only was 37 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 2: it delicious and you know something you could put a 38 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 2: nice piece of brion, I mean, it was how they 39 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 2: got their sustenance more than anything else. 40 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: Right, It's true. You know, we have to consider in 41 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: ages past people didn't often have the same concept toward 42 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: food or toward neutral trition that you would find to 43 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: be more common today. For example, a lot of times 44 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: today people eat for pleasure rather than mandatory survival. And 45 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 1: if bread wasn't available for a lot of people, it 46 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 1: could mean that they might starve. This was so important 47 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: that in Napoleonic times police were even in charge of 48 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 1: grain inspection and quality controls, sort of an FDA, but 49 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: oriented entirely toward bread, and when there was a wheat shortage, 50 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: things went crazy very quickly. 51 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's true. Like you know how in the United 52 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 2: States we refer to the president as the commander in 53 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 2: chief because he's in charge of the military for all 54 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 2: intents and purposes. Well, in France during this time, the 55 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 2: king was referred to as Boulangers du roem or prime 56 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 2: baker of the Kingdom. That was kind of a pretty 57 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 2: serious job, and in fact, there were these Napoleonic codes 58 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 2: that were established for everything from how to proof the 59 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 2: doe to make the bread, to the ratio of the ingredients. 60 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 2: This is all very, very very important, and it not 61 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 2: only was important because of it its place as a 62 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 2: staple food, but it was a cultural thing as well, 63 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 2: and they took their bread making very very seriously. 64 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, it is not an exaggeration to say that 65 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: all hell broke loose if something went wrong with the 66 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 1: bread supply. In seventeen seventy five, there was a wheat 67 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: shortage and grain prices skyrocketed, and to make things more complicated, 68 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 1: the new king at the time, Louis the sixteenth, decided 69 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: to allow a free market of grain within the country, 70 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 1: and this led to speculation flower merchants, who were already 71 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 1: kind of a distrusted segment of society along with bakers, 72 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: held back grain supplies. 73 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:53,279 Speaker 2: I read somewhere that certain flower merchants, to kind of 74 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 2: control prices, would cut their flour with everything from like 75 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 2: chalk to even bone meal sawdust as well. 76 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: Right, And this sounds, maybe on the offset, a bit silly, right, 77 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: Maybe it sounds like too much of a nanny state 78 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: to have laws controlling bread, But it is incredibly important. 79 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: There hadn't been a famine in France for decades before 80 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,480 Speaker 1: this occurred, but all of a sudden, the poorest people 81 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 1: in the country were unable to buy flour for bread, 82 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: and they rioted. 83 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,679 Speaker 2: Yeah, and this, what was referred to as the Flower War, 84 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 2: is considered by most historians as being the precursor to 85 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 2: the French Revolution that took place fourteen years later. And actually, 86 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:40,680 Speaker 2: you know what I think now, it'd be a good 87 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 2: time to introduce a new segment. We've been kicking around. 88 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 2: You see, our super producer, Casey Pegram is also our 89 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 2: resident Franco file and so we are going to have 90 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 2: a segment with Casey that I would affectionately like to 91 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 2: refer to as Casey on the Case or thus baked Casey. 92 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 2: We're still kicking it around. Casey Pegrim, Welcome to this show, 93 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 2: my friend. 94 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:05,239 Speaker 3: Hello, thanks guys. 95 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:08,480 Speaker 2: So Casey, we sort of bury the lead. Just to 96 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:11,599 Speaker 2: touch in this story, we talked a little bit about 97 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,680 Speaker 2: how these days during the summer months, Paris kind of 98 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 2: clears out a little bit. And you go to Paris 99 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 2: about once a year, would you say that's pretty accurate. 100 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:23,359 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, they call le graand Viscantes the big vacation. 101 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 3: And yeah, Paris in July and August gets extremely hot. 102 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 3: Many many places are not air conditioned. Climatize and that's 103 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 3: actually a point of advertisement. If like a movie theater 104 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 3: has air conditioning, they will put that like saw clematize 105 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:42,480 Speaker 3: and it's sort of like even if you don't care 106 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 3: what the movie is, just go in there and chill 107 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 3: out for a couple hours. So yeah, Paris basically empties 108 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 3: out and just becomes like the domain of tourists for 109 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:52,040 Speaker 3: a couple months. 110 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:55,800 Speaker 1: And when we were researching this episode off air, we 111 00:06:55,880 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: really wanted to lean on your abilities as a Francophone 112 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:05,600 Speaker 1: to tell us a little bit about the laws that 113 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 1: we're kicking around. That it is true, right, Nola, and 114 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: I haven't been just making stuff up for the past 115 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 1: few minutes. 116 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 3: No, it's real. So you guys had talked about the 117 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 3: Flower War, correct, And that's kind of the precursor to 118 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 3: this event that happens in October of seventeen eighty nine, 119 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 3: where this poor, poor baker, Denise Francois, who was confronted 120 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 3: by an angry mob that basically thought he was hoarding bread, 121 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 3: possibly just to drive the price up or potentially to 122 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 3: keep it on reserve for royalty and military people things 123 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 3: like that. 124 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:44,640 Speaker 2: This was a big deal, especially consider what had happened 125 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 2: during the Flower War, where they thought the king was 126 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,480 Speaker 2: hoarding the flower so that the people who relied on 127 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 2: it for their daily sustenance could not get what they 128 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 2: needed to make their daily brand right. 129 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 3: So this is kind of just a continuation of those tensions, 130 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 3: and as we see an angry crowd confronted this baker 131 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 3: and his bakery demanded that he come out, brought him 132 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 3: to what was then called a Place de Greve, which 133 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,080 Speaker 3: today in modern times is known as Lotel de Ville. 134 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 3: It's the city hall. Essentially, if you've ever been to Paris, 135 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 3: you've probably walked by this place. It's kind of a landmark. 136 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 3: It's very central, it's right by the seind and it's 137 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 3: a cool building. But they brought him to this public 138 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 3: square basically summarily executed him. They hung him and they 139 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,680 Speaker 3: decapitated him, and they paraded his head on a pike 140 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 3: around town. They brought it to other bakers to kind 141 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 3: of intimidate them. 142 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 2: Wow. 143 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 3: Apparently they waited on a scale at one point at 144 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 3: one of the bakeryes and. 145 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 2: Like a baker's scale. 146 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly, exactly. 147 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 2: Wow. Why the baker though, that seems like such misplaced anger. 148 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 2: I mean, this need is trying to like feed his family. 149 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 2: Was he considered part of the aristocracy. Was he looked 150 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 2: at as being an enemy of the people of peasants? 151 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 1: Well, he would have in relatively middle class and controlling 152 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 1: access to a resource that everyone needs. What's interesting to me, too, 153 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 1: is that we don't have any solid proof for whether 154 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: he was actually doing something wrong. 155 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,040 Speaker 3: Most of what I read said that in retrospect, this 156 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:18,560 Speaker 3: was a totally innocent guy that just got caught up 157 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 3: in like an angry mob that was looking for somebody 158 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 3: to blame for the problems that were going on. So 159 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 3: what happened next, Well, so after this guy was killed, 160 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,560 Speaker 3: the National Assembly meets and they basically decide that they're 161 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 3: going to declare martial law and that they are going 162 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 3: to ban all public gatherings, any kind of public protests. 163 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 3: There will be a red flag that signals the presence 164 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,079 Speaker 3: of martial law. So you'd be given three chances to disperse. 165 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 3: You could take from your group, you could select six 166 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:55,560 Speaker 3: people to kind of represent your grievances and whatever solution 167 00:09:55,840 --> 00:10:00,040 Speaker 3: you're kind of angling for. Everybody else is supposed to 168 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 3: disperse peacefully. There'd be a second warning and a third warning. 169 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 3: If after that third warning you're still there, you're still 170 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 3: protesting whatever, they are authorized to use armed force against 171 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 3: you and basically kill an entire crowd if they decide 172 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 3: to stick around. 173 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 2: So this is in the thick of the French Revolution, right, 174 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 2: I mean, this is like. 175 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 3: This is coming a couple weeks after the March on Versailles, Yes, 176 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 3: which is what brought the king back to Paris and 177 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 3: kind of returned rule of the country to Paris where 178 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 3: it had been displaced to Versailles. 179 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 2: Let me meet cake, right, right, So that was even 180 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 2: that catchphrase is tied to this whole idea of bread 181 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 2: being such a crucial component of everyday life, and the 182 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 2: fact that Marie Antoinette was so clueless and insulated that 183 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:46,280 Speaker 2: she would just say, oh, it's fine, they can eat cake, 184 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:48,079 Speaker 2: right because they have that surely, right. 185 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 3: Isn't that the joke kind of a little bit out 186 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 3: of touch? Yeah, very much. 187 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:55,679 Speaker 1: And there's an interesting tale within that within that too 188 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:58,680 Speaker 1: about the folklore versus the fact of that. But you're 189 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 1: absolutely right that was allegedly, or according to the legend, 190 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 1: in response to them saying, you know, the people have 191 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 1: no bread. 192 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:09,400 Speaker 2: No, but I saw it in a film, so okay, 193 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:12,559 Speaker 2: it was a Sophia Coppola film, so death, that's definitely 194 00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 2: exactly how it went down. S Is she the one 195 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:19,719 Speaker 2: who did Dracula? She was in Godfather three? Okay, right, 196 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:20,920 Speaker 2: remember it's on the stairs. 197 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: No, no spoilers, right right, Godfathers take Manhattan, right. 198 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:27,600 Speaker 2: That's the one. But no this is really just because 199 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 2: then this is ultimately correct me if I'm wrong, casey, 200 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 2: because you are in fact on the case. This is 201 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 2: what led to this decree in seventeen ninety from Louis 202 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:41,000 Speaker 2: the sixteenth that put this system in place, because okay, 203 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 2: so they weathered the grain shortage, they got through that, 204 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 2: but now it was like, what happens if the bakery's. 205 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,480 Speaker 1: Close if everybody takes the grand vacation at the same time. 206 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 2: You did say, though, that didn't really become a cultural 207 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 2: thing until a little bit more in the twenty first century, 208 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 2: the idea of that particular time for a vacation. 209 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,959 Speaker 3: But even still right, so the seventeen eighty nine or 210 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,880 Speaker 3: seventeen ninety ruling has to do with basically empowering authorities 211 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:15,319 Speaker 3: to make sure that bread stays in regular supply so 212 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 3: that people don't have a reason to riot. When it 213 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 3: gets into the twentieth century and you start getting things 214 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 3: like guaranteed vacation time for workers, and this kind of 215 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 3: culminates in the cultural tradition of the Grand vascants, where 216 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:31,359 Speaker 3: people take as much as like six weeks off consecutive 217 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 3: during the summer. Everybody leaves Paris and goes to like 218 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,319 Speaker 3: the coast of France. Then it became an issue because 219 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,439 Speaker 3: if everybody left at the same time, if everybody decides 220 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:42,679 Speaker 3: to take off July, you're probably not going to be 221 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:44,679 Speaker 3: able to get like a decent big at in Paris 222 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 3: for that month. And that's you know, they view that 223 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 3: as a pretty serious problem. 224 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:54,440 Speaker 1: So what happens to the consumers? Whatever will we do right? 225 00:12:54,559 --> 00:13:00,679 Speaker 3: Exactly? So it was then decided that these Boulanges bakers 226 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,679 Speaker 3: would have to coordinate with their local authorities when they 227 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:08,200 Speaker 3: wanted to take time off, and you know, it would 228 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 3: have to coordinate from all the other bakeries in the area, 229 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 3: such that you'd never found like a neighborhood that just 230 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 3: didn't have a bakery open. So someone have to go 231 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 3: in July, someone have to go in August. 232 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 1: And it was half and half correct. 233 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 3: Right, And it almost became like the these two groups 234 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,800 Speaker 3: almost identified like I'm a july In, I'm an Augustian. 235 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 3: It's very strange. 236 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 2: So this wouldn't be on the case with Casey if 237 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 2: we didn't hear a little sample of your dolcit French tones. 238 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 2: So could you give us a little reading from this 239 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 2: this ordinance casey. 240 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 3: So sure. This is article number six of the Law 241 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:49,040 Speaker 3: of October twenty first, seventeen eighty nine against gatherings or 242 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 3: martial law. In other words, so here we go, the 243 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 3: three warnings. 244 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:56,960 Speaker 2: The little poetry music in the back, some kind. 245 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:04,199 Speaker 3: Of dramatic accompaniment foot par person attulpedos dela parlis officier 246 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 3: municipopland trois mason tonquie mont don les domicile. So they 247 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 3: will be warned in a high voice by the municipal officers, 248 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:18,600 Speaker 3: or one among them, three warnings to return peacefully into 249 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 3: your home trois masioni ton quiet don la demasil three 250 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 3: warnings to return peacefully to your home la premier exp 251 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:32,200 Speaker 3: The first warning will be expressed in these terms. A 252 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:39,200 Speaker 3: vill done calalois marc cartus criminal. So notice will be 253 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 3: given that martial law has been proclaimed, that all gatherings 254 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 3: are criminal. Fur We're going to shoot cab solatier good 255 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 3: citizens go home alision. So on the second and third warning. 256 00:14:59,520 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 2: Cliban. 257 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 3: So on the second and third warnings, they're gonna skip 258 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 3: the preambole and just say we're gonna shoot good citizens, 259 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 3: go homefier municipal. So the municipal officer will announce whether 260 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,720 Speaker 3: it's the first, second, or third warning, and if you're 261 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 3: not out by the third warning, all bets are off, 262 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 3: you're probably gonna get shot. 263 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: Beautiful, I mean terrifying the beautiful performance, Casey. And this 264 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:31,080 Speaker 1: has been on the Case with Casey, you know what. 265 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,760 Speaker 1: I am a big fan of that segment. Noel, don't 266 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: you think that added some context? 267 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 2: It added some real umami to this episode, I think. 268 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 1: And there's more to the story, because you see it 269 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 1: turns out this law isn't just something that happened and 270 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: then disappeared. It has been, as we said at the 271 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: top of the show, on the books for centuries, and 272 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 1: it's been periodically revised, rewritten, reworked, as Casey mentioned, with 273 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 1: the emergence of workers. 274 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 2: Rights totally and because you know, you don't really see 275 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 2: a whole lot of huge, large scale famines happening in 276 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:12,680 Speaker 2: Europe these days, so it was relaxed in nineteen ninety five, 277 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 2: and we mentioned this briefly during Casey on the Case, 278 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 2: but half of the bakeries in Paris were able to 279 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 2: shut down during the month of July as long as 280 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,040 Speaker 2: the other half stayed open, and then bakers were actually 281 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 2: required to post notices in their windows of where a 282 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 2: customer could could get a croissant or a bag at 283 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,240 Speaker 2: within walking distance because it was all about this community 284 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 2: neighborhood vibe. You know, you had to be able to 285 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 2: walk there. It was very much part of day to day. 286 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 2: You could not be expected to, you know, hop a 287 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 2: taxi to another part of town. 288 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 1: My word, the very idea, the very idea. This is 289 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:53,000 Speaker 1: a really cool detail to me because I like it. 290 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:57,000 Speaker 1: It seems humanizing. It's not enough just to tell the authorities, hey, 291 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:59,120 Speaker 1: I'm going to be gone in July. You got to 292 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: support your pee too totally. 293 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 2: And it feels like we've gotten away from it being 294 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,160 Speaker 2: there being concern over riots and it being much more 295 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:12,679 Speaker 2: about maintaining that fresh baked bread culture that has sustained 296 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 2: in France throughout the generations. 297 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:19,199 Speaker 1: And you will hopefully be as thankful as we are 298 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: to note that the consequences for this are no longer 299 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: you know, life. 300 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 2: Threatening, absolutely not. In fact, even when they were still 301 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 2: on the books, you if you didn't get permission you 302 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:35,359 Speaker 2: decided to do what you wanted, you could get a 303 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,920 Speaker 2: fine which was a minimum of eve eleven euros a day, 304 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 2: which is around thirteen American dollars back in I think 305 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:47,480 Speaker 2: two thousand and five, or about twenty dollars in twenty 306 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:48,719 Speaker 2: seventeen bucks. 307 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:57,640 Speaker 1: And the story continued. In twenty fifteen, the French government 308 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 1: eased some of the remaining restrictions on baker's holidays as 309 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:07,560 Speaker 1: part of a larger effort to streamline their notoriously sluggish bureaucracy. 310 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 2: I mean, can you imagine having a law on the 311 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 2: books for two hundred years? Can you imagine what other weird, 312 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:16,639 Speaker 2: little esoteric legal nuggets remained on the books. Probably stuff 313 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:19,680 Speaker 2: about spitting in public. I don't know, beret quotas I 314 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 2: would imagine. I hope it'll get in trouble for that one. 315 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:23,240 Speaker 2: But it's true. 316 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: When this relaxation occurred in twenty fifteen, a lot of 317 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:30,800 Speaker 1: local Parisians feared that would be a bay Get crisis, 318 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: and to some degree they did experience one. Because the 319 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:40,920 Speaker 1: government no longer coordinated baker holidays for the industry, bakers 320 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: had a tough time knowing when they should leave. The 321 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: ones that stayed open ran out of bread quickly, and 322 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,479 Speaker 1: some were worried that their quality was suffering because there 323 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,160 Speaker 1: was such an increase in demand. 324 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,960 Speaker 2: Because literally, for the first time since the revolution, bakers 325 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 2: could go on vacation whenever they wanted, like normies, which 326 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:02,960 Speaker 2: is the Baker word for us exactly. So yeah, I 327 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 2: saw an article in the Daily Mail with some great 328 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 2: quotes of kind of like the scoop of how this 329 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,360 Speaker 2: is playing out today in the streets of Paris. There's 330 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:16,960 Speaker 2: a quote from Lynn Siegel, who is a Parisian resident, 331 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:19,800 Speaker 2: that goes as such, I went out to get a 332 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:22,480 Speaker 2: baguette a few days ago, and the two closest boulangeries 333 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:24,880 Speaker 2: to me were both closed for the first time ever. 334 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,040 Speaker 2: Then the next day a woman on the street stopped 335 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:31,800 Speaker 2: me asking where the closest open one was. Only the 336 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,480 Speaker 2: bad ones stayed open, only the bad one bad ones. 337 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: And this we should paint a picture of why this 338 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: is so important even now for something to be called 339 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 1: traditional homemade bread, only four ingredients legally can be used 340 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:52,800 Speaker 1: flower water, salt, and yeast. Seventy percent of bread is 341 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: still produced in Boulangeris, those local bakeries rather than industrial 342 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:03,360 Speaker 1: warehouse factories. You know, while worries of a bread shortage 343 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,200 Speaker 1: have you know, fallen a little bit in the years 344 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:11,800 Speaker 1: since the regulations loosened, there are new worries on the horizon. 345 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:16,440 Speaker 1: It appears people are eating fewer and fewer bagettes. 346 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:22,439 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's true. Per capita consumption of bagettes has fallen 347 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 2: by more than eighty percent since nineteen hundred, and at 348 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,199 Speaker 2: that time, the average person in France ate more than 349 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 2: three of them a day. 350 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 1: That's a lot, isn't that? 351 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 2: These are big man right? 352 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,720 Speaker 1: And today it's as of twenty seventeen, it's down to 353 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:41,400 Speaker 1: about a half a loaf a day. So analysts will 354 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:45,360 Speaker 1: attribute the drop to multiple factors, including maybe this preference 355 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,880 Speaker 1: for a lower carb diet or concerns about gluten consumption, 356 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: while some bakers say it's because the bread just doesn't 357 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:56,720 Speaker 1: taste as good as it did back in the you know, 358 00:20:57,119 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: the good old days of the pre revolutionary frame. 359 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:02,440 Speaker 2: Yeah. In that Daily Mail article, there's another quote from 360 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,240 Speaker 2: a Parisian artist named Anthony Stephenson who talks about being 361 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 2: pretty bummed out that because of the scarcity of high 362 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:12,119 Speaker 2: quality bread, he's now having to buy what he refers 363 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,440 Speaker 2: to as quote those strange half cooked mini baguettes from 364 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 2: my local supermarket and putting them in the oven. So 365 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 2: that is not cool for mister Stephenson, and I actually 366 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 2: found an article in the New York Times. The headline 367 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 2: is a baker's crusade rescuing the famed French bou lingerie. 368 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:33,760 Speaker 2: Because of this decrease in bread consumption, there is a 369 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:38,600 Speaker 2: sense that that culture, that history of artisanal baking, is 370 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:41,960 Speaker 2: being lost. So a man by the name of Pascal Rigio, 371 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 2: a French businessman, has decided to try to save the 372 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 2: fledgling French authentic French boulingerie by coming up with a 373 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:55,680 Speaker 2: model that allows scaling of these businesses while also using 374 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:59,639 Speaker 2: higher quality ingredients. And in order to do that, he 375 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,240 Speaker 2: is and to shrink each store, making it where you 376 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 2: only have to have one person to run it and 377 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:09,159 Speaker 2: buying ingredients centrally. That allows the shops to enhance the 378 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 2: quality and also increase bargaining power. And it limits the 379 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:17,160 Speaker 2: number of products sold, so you might have a store 380 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 2: that only sells bagettes as opposed to a diversified bakery 381 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:23,280 Speaker 2: where you have all kinds of other pastries. 382 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,800 Speaker 1: So this isn't a big warehouse plan. This sounds like 383 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,399 Speaker 1: a community of what would be smaller stores that are 384 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:36,760 Speaker 1: in keeping with French tradition. This could help trigger a resurgence, right, 385 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:40,119 Speaker 1: because we saw the numbers of these traditional bakeries dropping 386 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 1: over the past few decades. 387 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 2: That's right. Looks like in twenty fifteen there were twenty 388 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 2: eight thousand of these authentic bakeries, and that's down from 389 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:51,800 Speaker 2: thirty seven thousand, eight hundred just twenty years earlier. And 390 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,000 Speaker 2: that is from a twenty fourteen report on bread in 391 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:58,680 Speaker 2: France from euro Monitor by Alexander Gorenson. 392 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:04,639 Speaker 1: And on this we will end our exploration of bread 393 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:11,119 Speaker 1: war and revolution in France. However, if you feel like 394 00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:15,600 Speaker 1: the story should continue, we would like to cordially invite 395 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:19,840 Speaker 1: you to France's annual bread festival, usually held in May. 396 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,640 Speaker 1: This gives you enough time, hopefully to schedule your plans, 397 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:27,680 Speaker 1: and of course we want pictures if you happen to 398 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:31,360 Speaker 1: go to the bread festival, and let us know if 399 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,399 Speaker 1: you have lived in France or, like Casey, spent a 400 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:36,879 Speaker 1: great deal of time there. We'd like to hear what 401 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: your favorite bakeries are. We'd like to hear your impressions 402 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:47,959 Speaker 1: of where bakers stand in French society today. I'm very 403 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 1: interested in that because over just the course of this episode, 404 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:56,440 Speaker 1: we saw baker's being unfairly characterized as villains and then 405 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 1: as models of the working class, as masters of their 406 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,320 Speaker 1: So what are they today in twenty seventeen. 407 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,680 Speaker 2: You can write to us at ridiculous at HowStuffWorks dot com. 408 00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 2: You can drop us a note on Facebook or Ridiculous 409 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,159 Speaker 2: History there too. I think we have a Twitter now. 410 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:18,280 Speaker 2: You can tweet at us at Ridiculous History, or you 411 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 2: can check out our Instagram pages also Ridiculous History, and. 412 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 1: Of course, most importantly, let us know if you have 413 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:27,439 Speaker 1: suggestions for an episode who should cover in the future. 414 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 2: So please join us for more gaffs and laughs on 415 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 2: the next episode of Ridiculous History. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 416 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,080 Speaker 2: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 417 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:45,159 Speaker 2: to your favorite shows.