Fans of jambon-beurre say its demise has been exaggerated despite hamburger sales of 1.4bn

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

It was lunchtime and outside the boulangerie just off Baron Haussmann’s celebrated Grands Boulevards in Paris, Pierre almost choked on his ham and butter baguette.

Claims that the French now eat more burgers than the traditional jambon-beurre baguette sandwiches were definitely not to his taste; what’s more, he did not believe them.



“C’est pas vrai! (it’s not true),” he said, spluttering. “It’s what you call fake news, non?” He looked wistfully at the crusty stick of bread, wrapped in greaseproof paper and a napkin in his hand.



“I have nothing against burgers, but …,” he paused. “Are you American? Is this why you are suggesting such a thing?”



At the Greater Paris union of patissiers and bakers, the response was much the same.



“We have 2,500 members in four departments and they sell a lot of baguette sandwiches,” said the person who answered the phone. “The problem is I don’t think anyone counts them, so how do these people know more hamburgers are sold?



“I really don’t know what I can say, but it doesn’t seem a very fair comparison to me.”



As claims that the American interloper, le hamburger, had knocked France’s favourite snack off the menu made headlines around the world, even the man who headed the research admitted this was not comparing like with like.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest A jambon-beurre baguette. Photograph: Graham Turner/The Guardian

Bernard Boutboul, of the Paris-based restaurant consultancy Gira Conseil, interrupted his own lunch to tell the Guardian that reports of the jambon-beurre’s demise were greatly exaggerated.

His figures showed sales of the French classic had risen, though admittedly not as much as sales of burgers. About 2.4bn baguette sandwiches with a variety of fillings were sold in France last year, half of them jambon beurres, he said.

During the same period about 1.4bn burgers were sold in France, the vast majority in restaurants. Approximately 85% of France’s 145,000 restaurants, excluding fast-food chains, now have burgers on la carte.

“It’s not me that made the comparison between burgers and the jambon-beurre because you can’t compare the two. We’re talking about different things,” Boutboul said.



“Let me explain: baguettes are taken away and eaten with fingers, burgers are mostly eaten sitting down with a knife and fork. It’s not comparing like with like.”

The research was released in time for the annual Sandwich & Snack show in Paris early next month. Gira Conseil said it quizzed more than 1,000 food outlets, including bakeries and restaurants, across France.



The home of haute cuisine has reported a burger boom in recent years, with various fast-food chains springing up across the country. It is also McDonald’s most profitable market outside the US and has been for several years.



“We’ve been doing this research for 30 years so we have a pretty good idea of what French people eat and what they like,” Boutboul said. “And for the last three years, there’s been this craze for the burger.



“If you ask me if the burger is becoming more popular than famous French dishes like blanquette de veau or steak frites, that would be a better comparison. And the answer seems to be yes, it is.



“But the baguette sandwich? It’s still a French favourite.”



