French Postal Service Releases Scratch-and-Sniff Baguette Stamp
In a celebration of French cultural heritage, the French postal service has released a new postage stamp featuring the iconic baguette. Joining the ranks of other French treasures like Brigitte Bardot and the Eiffel Tower, the scratch-and-sniff stamp showcases a cartoon image of a baguette wrapped in a tricolor ribbon.
Unveiled on the feast day of Saint Honoré, the patron saint of bakers, the stamp is a nod to the importance of the baguette in French gastronomy and culture. With a price tag of 1.96 euros, or $2.14, each, the stamp is intended for international letters weighing up to 20 grams.
Thanks to scratch-and-sniff technology, recipients of mail from France will be treated to “bakery fragrances” when they receive a letter with the baguette stamp. The stamp is a tribute to the popularity of the baguette, with six billion of the iconic bread being made in France every year.
The baguette has received international recognition, including being added to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 2022. French President Emmanuel Macron has praised the baguette as “the spirit of French know-how,” highlighting its simple ingredients of flour, water, salt, and yeast.
In a recent competition, bakers in a Paris suburb baked a record-breaking 461-foot baguette, surpassing a record previously held by Italy. In Paris, the annual “Grand Prix de la baguette” competition crowns the city’s best baguette, with this year’s winner receiving a prize of €4,000 and the opportunity to supply the French presidential palace for a year.
The French postal service is hoping that the baguette stamp will be as popular as the bread itself, with no word yet on when a croissant stamp might be released. As Paris prepares to host the Summer Olympics and Paralympics, the baguette stamp is a fitting tribute to French culture and heritage.
