""You are the accent of the 6th arrondissement," Macron told Akbar in a formal ceremony at the Elysee Palace in late January. "The voice of the French press on Sunday mornings and every other day of the week." Macron went on to refer to Akbar as "the most French of the French a Voltairean who arrived from Pakistan.""
"Akbar's medal comes with a quiet footnote: He is believed to be the last newspaper hawker left in Paris. A job that once dotted street corners across the city has almost vanished, pushed out by the internet and the collapse of print journalism sales. In a city that now gets most of its headlines on phones, Akbar still delivers them by hand."
Ali Akbar is a longtime newspaper hawker in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, known for shouting "Ca y est!" and cycling with fresh stacks of Le Monde and Libération. His customers have ranged from neighborhood regulars to figures like Jean-Paul Sartre and Bill Clinton. President Emmanuel Macron named him a knight in the National Order of Merit, calling him the "accent of the 6th arrondissement" and "the most French of the French." He is believed to be the last newspaper hawker in Paris, a role diminished by the internet and collapsing print sales. Akbar still works seven days a week, ten hours a day.
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