Emmanuel Macron has thrown his presidential weight behind calls for the United Nations to recognise France’s beloved baguette as a “cultural treasure.”

“I know our bakers,” the youthful president said after hosting a group of master bakers and apprentice bread and pastry makers at the Elyséé palace for the traditional sharing of “galette des rois” cakes to mark the new year.

“They saw that the Neapolitans had managed to get their pizza classed on UNESCO’s world heritage list, and they said why can’t we do this for the baguette. And they’re right,” he said.

The baguette, Mr Macron proudly declared, is envied around the world.

“We must preserve its excellence and our expertise, and it is for this reason that it should be heritage-listed," he said.

If he gets his way, the "baguette de tradition" - which by law must be made using only flour, yeast, salt and water, unlike the ordinary baguette where the rules are less tight - could be on the road to UNESCO glory.