Paris' Last Newspaper Hawker Honored by President Macron

Ali Akbar, France's final newspaper hawker, is set to be awarded the Order of Merit by President Macron, a former customer. Having witnessed the shift from print to digital, Akbar cherishes his job and connection to the community despite declining sales.

In a heartfelt tribute to a fading profession, Ali Akbar, the last newspaper hawker in France, is to be awarded the Order of Merit by President Emmanuel Macron. Over his remarkable 50-year career on the Left Bank of Paris, Akbar has sold newspapers to countless locals, including a young Macron, who fondly recalls his early days as a student purchasing papers from him.

Reflecting on his journey, Akbar, now 72, recalls how he was once part of a bustling community of 35 to 40 hawkers in Paris. "Now I am alone," he notes with a hint of sadness, as he observes the stark decline in print media due to the rise of digital news consumption. Once able to sell 80 copies in an hour, he now struggles to offload around 30 copies of Le Monde during his daily rounds.

Despite the dwindling numbers, Akbar emphasizes the joy and independence his job brings him. “I am a joyous person. And I am free. With this job, I am completely independent," he states, quite matter-of-factly. Many locals in the Saint-Germain area view him as a beloved fixture of the neighborhood. "He knows everyone. And he is such fun," remarks one longtime admirer.

An immigrant from Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Akbar's journey to France began in the late 1960s in Amsterdam. By the early 1970s, he found his way to Paris, where he eventually obtained residency in the 1980s. Over the years, he has forged connections with celebrities and influential figures alike, but he also laments the cultural shift within his once vibrant neighborhood plagued with lost charm.

“The soul has gone,” he reflects, as he watches the tourist-infested streets of what was once an intellectual hub bustling with publishers, musicians, and writers. Akbar’s candid observations echo the melancholic realities of traditional media in a digital age, but through it all, his passion for his work stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of human connection.