It’s been part of the daily life of French people for more than 100 years, and now the baguette has been officially recognised for its cultural significance, joining Belgian beer, Arabic coffee and couscous amongst items on a list of significant foodstuffs.

With around 16 million loaves baked every day in France, it has been placed on the United Nations intangible cultural heritage list, recognising its importance to French life. The crusty loaf has been successfully exported across the globe, with many supermarkets and shops across Europe sell their own versions of the food staple.

French President Emmanuel Macron was among the first to welcome the move, tweeting his support and labelling the baguette a “French way of life” and “250 grams of magic and perfection in our daily lives”.

Recognising what she described as the “savoir-faire of artisanal bakers”, Audrey Azoulay of UNESCO said: “It is important that these skills and social habits continue to exist in the future.”

The typical price of a baguette is around €1 and is made only from flour, water, salt and yeast: the dough must rest for between 15 and 20 hours at a temperature between 4C and 6C, according to the French Bakers Confederation. However, although it is very much part of French daily life, the baguette is thought to have been invented by Vienna-born baker August Zang in 1839.