PARIS, JAN 29 /DNA/: French President Emmanuel Macron has bestowed one of the country’s most prestigious honours on a 74-year-old newspaper vendor who has spent more than 50 years crisscrossing Paris’ Latin Quarter, selling dailies on cafe terraces.
Ali Akbar was made a knight of the Grand Order of Merit, which recognises distinguished service to France in a civilian or military capacity, at the French presidential palace.
Akbar has been hopping between the now fashionable district’s venues with a stack of papers since 1973, employing a unique blend of humour and energy to fight falling sales.
Kerb-side newspaper sellers largely faded out of existence by the mid 1970s in an era where television began to overtake the printed word as the main source of news.
French President Emmanuel Macron poses with Ali Akbar, who hawks newspapers around the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Pres in the French capital for 50 years, awarded with the Chevalier of the French Order of Merit award and his family during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on January 28, 2026. — Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron poses with Ali Akbar, who hawks newspapers around the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Pres in the French capital for 50 years, awarded with the Chevalier of the French Order of Merit award and his family during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on January 28, 2026. — Reuters
But Akbar, who arrived in France from his native Pakistan in 1973 has kept the tradition alive — earning the affection of locals and recognition by international media and French President Emmanuel Macron.
A native of Rawalpindi in Pakistan, Akbar took up the job when he arrived in France, initially selling copies of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo to students in the Sorbonne and neighbouring institutions.
