PARIS' LAST NEWSPAPER HAWKER

Among the literary cafes and chic boutiques of the Saint-Germain-des-Pres quarter of Paris, an impish man with a wad of newspapers makes the rounds, his trademark cry of "Ca y est!" or "That's it!" echoing down narrow cobblestone streets.

- Roger Cohen

who sometimes has a withering take on life, having seen much of its underside. He has a residence permit, but his application for French nationality is mired in Gallic bureaucracy.

Mr Akbar moves at startling speed. A sinewy bundle of energy at 72, he clocks several kilometers a day, selling Le Monde, Les Echos and other daily newspapers from around noon until midnight. Dismissive of the digital, he has become a human networker of a district once dear to writers Jean-Paul Sartre and Ernest Hemingway, now overrun by brand-hungry tourists.