The players warmed up by stretching and squatting in front of the Town Hall, rigorously placing croissants and glasses on trays and fastening their aprons while pop music played from the speakers.
Then they were off.
On Sunday, for the first time in greater than a decade, a tradition was resumed in Paris: the annual race of waiters from cafes and restaurants. About 200 men and ladies swerved, bumped and ran 2.5 miles through city streets crammed with cheering crowds. The rules were easy: no running and reach the finish line with intact trays of croissant, a glass of tap water and a small cup of coffee.
The race, which was first held in the early twentieth century, has been on hiatus since 2012 as a result of lack of funds. However, the authorities of Paris saw a likelihood for the city to shine before hosting the Summer Olympic Games, which start in July. It was also a moment to indicate that sipping coffee in a café or wine in a bistro is as integral a a part of the capital’s cultural heritage as its most famous monuments.
“When foreigners come to Paris, they don’t just come for the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower,” said Nicolas Bonnet-Oulaldj, deputy mayor in charge of trade. “They also come to eat at our cafes, at Bouillon Chartier, Brasserie Lipp and Procope.”
Last yr there have been over 15,000 bars, cafes and restaurants in Paris, in response to city statisticsfueling a vibrant culture in which to sit down back and admire a scene that has endured despite the coronavirus pandemic and concerns about inflation and employee shortages.
“It’s a French and Parisian way of life,” Bonnet-Oulaldj said.
Before the race, waiters used safety pins to connect numbered bibs to their clothes. People from the most famous clubs in the city were treated almost like sports stars before a vital match.
Cameras and viewers gathered at number 207, representing Les Deux Magots, an iconic café frequented by intellectuals and writers such as Simone de Beauvoir and James Baldwin; and No. 182, representing La Tour d’Argent, a famous restaurant with a beautiful view of the Seine.
Others were just blissful to be there.
“It’s great to run together,” said Fabrice Di Folco, 50, a waiter at Chez Savy near the Champs Elysées, who was participating in the race for the first time. Like many others, Di Folco said he didn’t train specifically for the competition – his day job was enough to organize.
Apprentices raced individually from veterans, and men and ladies competed together but were classified individually. The three best participants in each category received prizes in the type of stays in four-star hotels and exquisite meals in restaurants. The first competitors in each category also won the coveted tickets to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Although waiters nominally participate in the race, almost anyone working in the service industry could participate: cafes, restaurants, hotels, and even the residence of the British ambassador.
Adam David, 22, a valet at the residence, was waiting for the race to begin wearing a green plaid vest. “I keep saying I’m going to win,” he said jokingly. But he added: “I try not to cause a diplomatic incident.”
Competitors began at Paris City Hall and headed to the Center Pompidou, then wandered through the narrow streets of the Marais, the capital’s old Jewish district, before returning to their start line. TV crews and fans ran alongside them as if during the Tour de France, while spectators clapped and shouted words of encouragement.
The more competitive waiters advanced with an intense, almost tortured power march. Most finished inside 13-20 minutes.
“It seemed long to me,” said Anne-Sophie Jelic, 40. “But the audience was great.”
She wore vibrant red lipstick and lace-up shoes that matched the color of her cafe’s awning. The daughter of a cook and pastry chef, Ms. Jelic said she remembered hearing about the waiter’s race while growing up in the rural Eure-et-Loir area west of Paris.
Ms. Jelic moved to Paris to pursue a master’s degree in art history and archeology and waited tables on the side. She said she liked it a lot that she modified the song. She and her husband, the owner of the Dalayrac cafe in the second district, took part in the competition on Sunday.
“We’re not here for the prizes,” Ms. Jelic said before the race. However, she finished second in her category, winning a meal at the Tour d’Argent.
At the finish line, the judges checked the “integrity” of the competitors’ trays. Any glass of water below the 10-centimeter gauge line resulted in a 30-second penalty. Empty glass? This will take one minute. Broken dishes? Two minutes. Something is missing? Three. Lost your plate? Disqualified.
It was also forbidden to hold the tray with each hands, but not to modify from left to right.
“The problem is that I can’t change my leg,” said Théo Roscian, a young trainee waiter at Francette, a barge restaurant near the Eiffel Tower, as he puffed along the racetrack.
Some water spilled out and splashed uncertainly in Mr. Roscian’s glass. He swore.
While it’s unclear when exactly this tradition began, most date the first “cafe waiters race” until 1914. For decades, the sponsor was L’Auvergnat de Paris, a weekly named after immigrants from the Auvergne region in central France who came to the capital, many of whom became bistro and café owners.
This year’s competition was sponsored by the city’s water utility, which said cafe customs such as serving coffee with a glass or carafe of tap water with a meal make them key allies in efforts to reduce plastic use.
The cafe and restaurant industry welcomed this revival.
Marcel Bénézet, president of the cafés, bars and restaurants division of the Groupement des Hôtelleries et Restaurations de France, a trade group for the services industry, said that over the past decade, Paris has faced a series of crises that have hurt businesses: terrorist attacks, violent protests, lockdowns related to with Covid-19 and rising inflation.
“It is important to showcase our profession,” said Mr. Bénézet, who took part in the race. “There’s a lot going on in Parisian cafes,” he said, citing love, friendships, business and revolutions as examples.
Historically, waiters competed in classic attire: a white jacket, black bow tie and formal shoes. On Sunday, players had a dress code that included a traditional apron, but made modern concessions, such as being able to traverse the Parisian cobblestones in sneakers.
André Duval, 75, a retired maître d’hôtel who wore a large red bow tie, said he remembered a time when waiters carried wine – not water – to the finish line. “It’s a pity it didn’t last as long as it used to,” he added. Some of Waiters’ previous races have stretched for five miles.
One observer, Renée Ozburn (72), a writer and retired judge, said the competition embodied the unique energy of the French capital.
“It’s one of those things you only see in Paris,” she said.
