Every morning, the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood in Paris echoes with distinctive calls. Seventy-two-year-old Akbar is France’s – and Europe’s – last traditional “town crier style” newspaper vendor. Next month, French President Emmanuel Macron will personally award him the Knight of the National Order of Merit (Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite) in recognition of his unique contribution to French culture.
Born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Akbar embarked on a journey to Europe in the late 1960s with dreams in his heart. After working in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and elsewhere, he arrived in France by boat in 1972. During a trip to Paris, he encountered a street newspaper vendor – a meeting that sparked an enduring bond with the trade.
Though Akbar now sells only about 30 newspapers daily, earning meager income, and laments that “this place has become just a tourist spot; its soul is gone,” the profession remains deeply woven into his life. Braving both bitter cold and sweltering heat, he appears on the street without fail. With each cheerful cry, he safeguards vanishing urban memories.