The Sri Lankan immigrant baker who makes baguettes for Emmanuel Macron

ParisBread is practically a religion for the French. ParisAlmost the entire population lives within five minutes of a bakery (in French, the typical bakeriesAnd, morning or afternoon, it's easy to bump into neighbors walking home with at least one baguette under their arm. The vast majority of the city's bakeries are extraordinary, both those in the center and those on the outskirts, always with a tempting aroma and plenty of freshly baked bread and pastries. Many display awards in their shop windows, prizes received in various baking competitions over the years. One of the most popular competitions is the Best Baguette in Paris contest, organized by the City Hall, which in 2026 recognized Fournil Didot, a small, previously little-known bakery in the 14th arrondissement, away from the tourist bustle, behind Montparnasse towards the... suburbs From the south.

The owner of the shop is Sithamparappillai Jegatheepan, a 43-year-old baker from Sri Lanka who arrived in France in 2003: "I have three daughters, I dedicate this to them; they were the ones who encouraged me to apply for the first time and told me that." The prize, in addition to a €4,000 award, makes the business the main bread supplier for the presidential office at the Élysée Palace for a year. Jegatheepan, who until now was used to selling bread only to local customers, will now be responsible for serving bread to the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and his guests: "I still can't believe it, it's a huge responsibility," he admits.

When he arrived in France from his home country, Jegatheepan started doing occasional jobs in the restaurant sector, until in 2008 he began in the world of pastry making macaroniThese small French pastries are shaped like miniature hamburgers. He then worked in various bakeries around the city, where he learned the trade, and in 2018 he opened his own business, which has now made him famous.

A small bread oven in a residential neighborhood

The Fournil Didot is a place outside the media spotlight, which does not appear (at least until now) in tourist guides or in the tops of the foodies Instagram travelers. It's located in a residential area of ​​the 14th arrondissement, on streets where Parisian life blends with immigration from South Asia, with a few Indian restaurants nearby. All the bakery workers have Indian features, and some of the women wear the red dot on their foreheads. The regular customers are all from the neighborhood, but in the last two weeks, people have also been coming specifically to try the baguette in question, especially Asians who place their orders while recording videos on their phones or even on a live video call with the other side of the world. "We're very busy; more and more people are coming, especially Japanese and Chinese," says Jegatheepan.

The baguette in the competition is the variety tradition –The Catalan equivalent would be the rustic one, more fermented and with more rind than the regular one. tradition The Fournil Didot loaf, at €1.30, bought and eaten the same day, is incredibly crispy, with a thin, crackling crust that isn't hard—a soft, airy, and consistent spring. Eating it on its own is worthwhile, but the French reach heaven when they add salted butter or pair it with a good cheese. Catalan-style, with good olive oil and ripe tomatoes, it's also glorious.

And what's the secret that earned it the award? "The mixture of water, flour, salt, and yeast. But above all, the art of fermentation is crucial: the resting time, without rushing, at the right temperature," explains the owner. In total, it's 14 hours of fermentation at 5 degrees Celsius. A technique that Jegatheepan has been perfecting over the years, and which, finally, in 2026, has allowed him to place ahead of the 143 baguettes submitted to the competition, convincing the jury presided over by Nicolas Bonnet-Ouladj, Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of commerce and crafts.