“The coffee race”, the bizarre event returned to Paris: the video of the departure

Paris has recovered an ancient tradition: the annual coffee run. Around 200 service sector workers walked or marched through the streets of the French capital on Sunday. Each carried a tray with a croissant, a glass of water and a cup of coffee.

The rules: Obviously the tray wasn’t supposed to fall; You couldn’t hold the tray with both hands, but you could switch from one to the other; I couldn’t run.

The sanctions: 30 seconds more for each glass of water that is below the 10 centimeter line; 1 minute more for each empty glass; 2 extra minutes for broken dishes; disqualification for lost license plate.

The participants of The coffee course (the coffee run) started and ended at the Paris City Hall. They walked, among other things, through the streets of the Marais and the Pompidou Center. Most finished the tour in 13-20 minutes.

There were six big winners, three for each category (apprentices and veterans). The women and men competed together but qualified separately.

The top three finishers in each category won four-star hotel stays and restaurant meals, while the top finishers in each category won tickets to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

The deputy mayor of Paris, Nicolas Bonnet-Oulaldjpublished a series of photos of the race and celebrated the call: “Many people in the town hall square and in the marsh to cheer for the waitresses and waiters who took the start launched by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.”

Old tradition recovered in an Olympic year

The race took place again in a year of great importance for the French capital, given that the Olympic Games will be held there in July and the eyes of the world will be focused there.

The waiters race, estimated to have been running since the mid-2010s, had been suspended since 2012 due to lack of funding.

This time too the event was organized partly by the Olympic Games and partly thanks to funding from the city’s public water company.

The company’s intention was to use the year of the Games to show the world how important the habit of sitting in Parisian restaurants to drink a coffee and eat baked goods and pastries is to French culture.

Last year, Paris was home to more than 15,000 bars, cafes and restaurants, a scene that has remained strong even during the coronavirus pandemic.