If you were out in the city you may have seen an odd sight ( Pictures: AFP/EPA)
In a peculiar tradition, hundreds of waiters flocked to the streets of Paris today to carry loaded trays.
The race is part of a 110-year-old tradition, that began in the French capital in 1914.
The hospitality workers scurry 2km through the streets, in uniform carrying their trays.
On the trays, the waiters carried the regulation pastry, small but empty coffee cup and full glass of water.
The last race occurred in 2011, but ahead of the Olympics being held in the country, the French city seem keen to get the competitive spirit flowing.
Pauline Van Wymeersch was the runaway winner in the women’s category in 14 minutes, 12 seconds.
She started waitering at the age of 16, and is now 34.
‘I love it as much as I hate it. It’s in my skin. I cannot leave it,’ she said.
Prizes for nimble-footed waiters included medals, two tickets for the Olympic opening ceremony along the River Seine and a night at a Paris hotel (Credits: EPA)
The he 2km loop started and finished at City Hall.(Photo by Remon Haazen/Getty Images)
‘It’s hard. It’s exhausting. It’s demanding. It’s 12 hours per day. It’s no weekends. It’s no Christmases.’
Despite this, Wymeersch, who has been waitressing for 18 years now, said she could not imagine another life for herself.
She said: ‘It’s part of my DNA. I grew up in a way with a tray in my hand. I have been shaped, in life and in the job, by the bosses who trained me and the customers, all of the people, I have met.’
She waitresses at the Le Petit Pont cafe and restaurant facing Notre Dame cathedral.
It is quite a strange sight! (Credits: EPA)
The winner of the men’s category was Samy Lamrous, who works at La Contrescarpe, in Paris’ 5th district.
He managed to speed through the streets in an impressive time of 13 minutes and 30 seconds.
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The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, said cafes and restaurants are ‘really the soul of Paris’.
‘The bistrot is where we go to meet people, where we go for our little coffee, our little drink, where we also go to argue, to love and embrace each other,” she said.
‘The cafe and the bistrot are life.’
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