Traditional, fresh-baked croissants are in danger of dying out in France, according to a report.

Philippe Godard, of the French bakery and patisserie business federation, said Wednesday that one in two viennoiseries (croissants and other baked goods) “in our ‘traditional’ bakeries is now industrial,” meaning they are prepared in factories, frozen and then heated up for sale rather than cooked in the store, The Telegraph newspaper reported.

Purists are outraged. Pierre Couderc, a baker in Paris, put a sign in his window reading, “All our products are prepared on site. They have not been chosen from a catalogue and delivered frozen by the industry.”

'Not rubbery'
Its chief croissant-maker, Eddy Le Tourrier, told France Info radio that their croissants were “not rubbery, nor are they full of air. They are consistent and at the same time light, unctuous and crispy when they come out of the oven.”

However, other bakers complain they are unable to compete with the low-cost, mass-produced variety.

The Telegraph reported that the bakers’ federation of the Loir-et-Cher area of France was to launch a new “home-made viennoiseries” label on Monday for local bakers to put in the window.

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