Paris’s Last Newspaper Hawker Receives France’s Order of Merit After 50 Years
Ali Akbar, the final newspaper hawker in France, will be awarded the Order of Merit by President Macron for over five decades of selling papers on Paris’s Left Bank.
For more than half a century, Ali Akbar has been a fixture on Paris’s Left Bank, hawking newspapers with the day’s headlines ever at the ready. Now, France’s last street newspaper vendor will be honoured for his cultural contribution.
President Emmanuel Macron, who once bought his own newspapers from Mr Akbar as a student, will decorate him next month with the Order of Merit, one of France’s highest civilian accolades.
From Peak Trade to Digital Decline
When Mr Akbar began in 1973, some 35 to 40 hawkers roamed Paris; today he stands alone. He recalls selling 80 copies within an hour during the pre-internet era, compared with just 30 daily sales now as readers shift to their phones.
A Joyful Independence
At 72, Mr Akbar is driven by his love of the job. “I am a joyous person. I am free,” he says. “There’s no one giving me orders. That’s why I keep going.” Neighbors describe him as part of the neighborhood fabric. “He’s like a brother,” one long-time patron says.
An Unchanged Tradition Amid a Changing District
Born in Rawalpindi, Mr Akbar arrived in Europe in the late 1960s, working on a cruise ship before settling in Paris in 1973. Over the decades, he has met writers, musicians and politicians. He fondly recalls Elton John buying him tea and Macron and other future leaders among his customers outside Sciences Po.
Yet the Saint-Germain district no longer feels the same. “It used to be full of publishers, writers and artists. The place had soul,” he laments. “Now it’s tourist town—its soul is gone.”
Despite dwindling sales, Ali Akbar’s devotion to street journalism and personal independence has made him a beloved symbol of Parisian culture.
This topic was reported by BBC.
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