I found this article a fun read. I've lived in the Paris région now for more than half my life. When I arrived in 1980 baguettes were generally bad, though I eventually found a bakery run by an old Roman and her reclusive son. It was gothic -- like the last bakery on Earth in a sci-fi film. 10 years later, good bread was back, though the name and the price had changed. Now you order "un tradition" and it can be marvelous. Thank you, Mr. Kaplan.