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‘I am a knight’: Paris’ last newspaper hawker gets top French award
Ali Akbar, Paris’s last newspaper hawker, was honored for his 50 years of service and integration, selling about 30 papers daily despite declining sales, President Macron said.
- On January 28, 2026, French President Emmanuel Macron made Ali Akbar a Chevalier of the National Order of Merit at the Elysee Palace, featuring a speech and photos with Akbar and his relatives.
- Akbar arrived in France from Pakistan in 1973 and began selling newspapers in Paris after working in Rouen, northern France, while his early break came when Georges Bernier introduced him to Charlie Hebdo.
- A septuagenarian hawker who kept the tradition alive, Akbar sells about 30 newspapers daily, down from 150–200, despite a �1,000 monthly pension and still entertains customers with jokes.
- Akbar said he was deeply moved and plans to keep selling newspapers, while Mr Macron told him `You are the accent of the 6th arrondissement. The voice of the French press`.
- The honour was framed by Mr Macron as an example of integration which `makes our country stronger and prouder`, adding `There are also many stories like Ali's, of women and men who fled poverty to choose a country of freedom`.
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Ali Akbar has been selling newspapers for five decades in the Paris neighborhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. France's last colporteur is now being honored with the country's knighthood.
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Read all about it! Macron gives honour to last newspaper hawker in Paris
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...
Coverage Details
Total News Sources12
Leaning Left3Leaning Right2Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution38% Left, 37% Center
Bias Distribution
- 38% of the sources lean Left, 37% of the sources are Center
38% Left
L 38%
C 37%
R 25%
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