"It's a disaster": This village on the French Riviera has been without an artisan baker since November
With its Provençal charm, which is not lost on the many tourists, especially in summer, it is hard to imagine that in the old village of Biot, with its 1,000 inhabitants, it is impossible to buy bread from a real artisan baker.
Since the closure of the Fournil de Biot in early November 2024, there is no longer a bakery in the heart of the village. You have to go down the Route de la Mer and reach Le Migranier or Boulangerie Logerot to find one.
A delicate situation for residents, especially the elderly, whose movement may be limited. "It's a disaster," says Monique, a dejected Biotoise, as she leaves the Tuesday market. Catherine, for her part, regularly comes to the village on vacation: "It's a shame there's no more bakery. Beyond bread, there's no bakery that also makes pastries."
An interested bakery professionalThroughout the streets of the village, the same message is repeated: it seems unthinkable that such a village does not have a bakery, often considered the first local business.
Concerned, the mayor of Biot, Jean-Pierre Dermit, recognizes that "a bakery in a village is capital, strategic, indispensable. It is a crucial economic and commercial tool for the life of the community."
Several interested parties have expressed interest in taking over the former Fournil premises, but some have given up after seeing the rent, set at 2,552 euros per month, including charges.
But hope has been reborn in recent days. A contractor is expected to contact the Prado agency, which is responsible for leasing the property, very soon. Already the owner of three bakeries, including one he recently acquired in Biot, the man is looking for new opportunities. He'd be interested in setting up shop on Rue Saint-Sébastien.
"He's a serious person and already established in our town. I won't hide from you that we would be very motivated by the idea of welcoming this professional," Jean-Pierre Dermit believes. If the operation doesn't succeed, the mayor rules out a buyout of the brand by the town: "It's not the vocation of a municipality to go into the field of food trades like bakeries. The town hall has a public service objective, we can't do everything. In any case, we would have the same difficulties as the agency and the owner to find a baker, because we are obliged to maintain a certain level of rent."
Bread depots to keep you goingMeanwhile, in the village, three merchants offer a daily bread drop-off. Le Vival, for its part, has already been selling baguettes since its opening in 2017. At the ice cream parlor Au Snack et Douceurs, you can buy " brioches, croissants, and pains au chocolat [which] come directly from a shop in Antibes where the pastry chef is a young man from Biot ."
Since the closure of the Fournil, the Laits & Crus grocery store has also been mobilizing for express assistance: "From time to time, I am even asked for more bread than I have. Sometimes, in the evening, I have nothing left. It is important to ensure this daily purchase, here on site. I offer it because I was asked, but it is a transition. I hope that the bakery will open again, it is a cornerstone, a place of passage that brings life" , says Sophie Deschaintres, head of Laits & Crus.
Memories speak in front of the closed door of the Fournil de Biot, rue Saint-Sébastien. "The last bakery is closed. And we still don't see anyone taking it over," note these locals passing in front of the shop, awakening memories: "I remember very well the one that also did pastries, opposite where the chocolatier is now."
"There were four bakeries in the village. And yes, Madam, it's clear we ate more bread back then and habits weren't the same."
Immediately, names fly among the small group, and childhood images, more or less old, resurface: "Yes, of course it was at Cozzolino's, they closed in the mid-80s. But we also found bread in Place des Arcades and that goes back a long way."
With curiosity piqued, it was while leafing through an old issue of Biot Info that the facts were confirmed. We learned that in 1952, the town lived off agriculture or pottery, but that many artists were charmed and that the photographer Denis Brihat had set up shop in Place des Arcades, "not far from the bakery-grocery store of Mr and Mrs Ghibaudo" .
" The fourth was located on Rue de la Poissonnerie. There is still the bakehouse. Built in 1930, this wood-fired oven was initially intended for baking bread for the villagers because few households had their own, " adds Céline Baleydier, adding, " I remember the rumors. It was said that one of the bakers had closed because he had won the lottery. I never knew if it was just gossip ."
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