Every morning, the Paris Saint-germain-de-pere echoes with a unique cry. The 72-year-old Akbar (pictured) is the last traditional French and European newspaper hawker. Next month Maqueron, the French president, will present him with the Order of National Order of Merit in recognition of his unique contribution to French culture.
Akbar was born in a Pakistani Rawalpindi. In the late 1960s, he embarked on a dream journey to Europe, making a living in places like Amsterdam, the Netherlands, before arriving in France by boat in 1972. On a trip to Paris, he met a street newspaper vendor and became inextricably bound to newspapers. Later, he met a weekly reporter, and was lucky enough to stay with a French couple, began in the sixth arrondissement of Paris for the satirical magazine loudly sell.
In the 1970s, there were 30 or 40 newspaper vendors like Akbar on the streets. In the age before the internet, they are like the city’s“News trumpet”, shouting the day’s headlines, to convey information for the public. The afternoon edition of Le Monde sold ninety copies in an hour. But as the digital wave hits, Akbar is now alone. “I like to walk, I like to talk to people, I’m free here, nobody can order me around,” he says humorously, Gare de Saint-germain-en-laye Grande-Ceinture in cafã © s and in front of the Paris Institute of Political Science, where Akbar has been seen. He is not only a newspaper vendor, but also a social link in the city. Many celebrities have enthusiastically invited him to drink with them, and Maqueron was a regular at school. Neighbors affectionately refer to him as“Brother,” exclaiming that he“Knows everyone and is so much fun.”.
Although Akbar now sells only about 30 newspapers a day, earning a meagre income, and laments that “Now it’s just a tourist punch line, the soul is gone”, the profession has long been part of his life. Regardless of the heat and cold, he will appear in the streets, with a laugh to sell, guarding the city’s fading memories.