Pakistani-born newspaper vendor Ali Akbar Akbar has been homeless and experienced extreme poverty
French President Emmanuel Macron (L), wearing sunglasses, awards the Chevalier of the French Order of Merit to Ali Akbar, who has been bagging newspapers in the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Pres in the French capital for 50 years, at the Elysee Palace in Paris on January 28, 2026. PHOTO: AFP ……
Pakistani-born newspaper vendor Ali Akbar has been homeless, experienced extreme poverty and had been attacked.
On Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron made Akbar, believed to be the last newspaper vendor in Paris, a Knight of the National Order of Merit in recognition of his service to France.
The French president praised Akbar’s “incredible destiny” and thanked the septuagenarian for coming from Pakistan decades ago, selling newspapers for 50 years and carrying France in his heart.
“Dear Ali, thank you for bringing political news to our terraces at the top of your lungs, for warming the heart of Flore, Deux Magots, the Lipp brasserie,” Macron said in his speech at the Elysee Palace, referring to some of the French capital’s iconic cafes.
“You are the accent of the 6th arrondissement. The voice of the French press,” Macron told Akbar, who was surrounded by his family.
Known for inventing sensational headlines, Akbar peddles his wares around the exclusive streets of Saint-German-des-Pres, where he has become a neighborhood legend.
French has “become your language”, Macron told the slim, sharply dressed man.
“You have learned to play with it and make it your own. You have carried, if I may say so, the world in your arms and France in your heart,” Macron added.
He praised Akbar as an example of integration that “makes our country stronger and prouder”.
“He is a magnificent example at a time when we so often hear bad news,” Macron said.
French President Emmanuel Macron (CL), wearing sunglasses, poses with Akbar and his relatives after awarding the Chevalier of the French Order of Merit to Ali Akbar, who has been hawking newspapers on the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Pres in the French capital for 50 years, at the Elysee Palace in Paris January 28, 2026.AFP.
“There are also many stories like Ali’s, of women and men who fled poverty to choose a country of freedom.”
Akbar said he was “deeply moved” and already knew what he would shout on the streets of Paris in the coming days.
“That’s it, I’m a knight! I’ve made it!” he said at the Elysee.
Akbar arrived in France hoping to escape poverty and send money back to his family in Pakistan. He worked as a sailor and then a dishwasher in a restaurant in the northern city of Rouen.
Then in Paris he bumped into the French humorist Georges Bernier, who gave him the chance to sell his satirical newspapers Hara-Kiri and Charlie Hebdo.
Akbar said last year that he could not believe Macron wanted to give him France’s highest honour.
“We often crossed paths when he was a student,” he said at the time.
Akbar, who receives a pension of 1,000 euros ($1,175) a month, still works every day.
On average, he sells about 30 newspapers every day, compared to between 150 and 200 when he started.
He says he has no plans to give up “entertaining people with my jokes” anytime soon.
“I will continue to sell newspapers,” he said.
