Al -- I carefully read that article as did Margaret Kemp and other food writers. Margaret has written a letter disagreeing with the NY Times article.

Try getting a reservation at some of your favorite Paris restos.
Hate to cast negative dispersions on the press - but this article isn't 100% correct. The mediocre/bad cafes will close - but I am not worried.

"What is a village but a cafe, a school, a pharmacy, a bakery and a city hall?”

This is a great quote from a suffering cafe owner from the article. This is funny, Al; I was just talking about the state of French cafes with our son and daughter-in-law today in NYC. I hadn't realized they're in such bad shape, but it makes sense, I guess. I'd also be interested to hear comments from all of you "locals".

It seems that an overwhelming number of cafés in France are in enough trouble to be closing down. Problems started with the smoking ban and have hit a peak with the state of the economy.Anybody on the spot seen this?

The following is a link to a NYTimes story today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/world/europe/23cafe.html?_r=1&ref=world