I was first alerted to this by a recent article from the BBC. Was it April Fool’s Day, I wondered? Does a ‘scratch and sniff’ stamp exist, let alone in France?

I have previously blogged about the popularity of the baguette in France. Since writing that post, the baguette gained UNESCO heritage status in 2022. I wasn’t surprised that there should be a stamp in honour of the baguette, but the ‘scratch and sniff element’ did amaze me.

Time for some research! I headed off to the website for La Poste; although there was much detail about the baguette, I could not see any reference to the scratch and sniff element. This was verified by a French friend who looked at me as if I was mad when I told him about the stamp.

Further research led me to Le Parisien which announced that that ‘la Poste met en vente depuis ce vendredi un timbre à l’effigie d’une baguette et à l’odeur d’une boulangerie’. The Post Office are releasing a stamp with an image of a baguette and the smell of a boulangerie’.

This stamp was launched on May 16, Saint Honoré Day. St Honoré is the patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs. I wrote about him here: https://fancyingfrance.com/2019/05/15/happy-st-honore-day/

The stamps went on sale the next day, reminding me that I must pop into the Post Office to see if I can purchase some of these stamps and test if they are ‘sniff and scratch’. Watch this space!

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