MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
There are fewer newspapers these days and fewer people selling them on the street. Newspaper hawkers have mostly disappeared, but in Paris, one man is keeping the job alive, and, as Rebecca Rosman reports, France has just given him a knighthood for it.
ALI AKBAR: Breaking news. Breaking news.
REBECCA ROSMAN, BYLINE: If Paris' 6th arrondissement has a signature sound, it might be this voice.
A AKBAR: Breaking news.
ROSMAN: Ali Akbar, who for more than 50 years, has been making the rounds on his secondhand bike across the Left Bank neighborhoods, cafes and brasseries, waving a stack of fresh newspapers like Le Monde.
A AKBAR: (Speaking French).
ROSMAN: (Speaking French), his catchphrase, meaning that's it. Over the years, he sold papers to everyone from Elton John to Bill Clinton. At first, Akbar was one of several dozen newspaper hawkers. Today, he's believed to be the last one in Paris. Last month, one of his old customers, French president Emmanuel Macon, recognized that, awarding Akbar the National Order of Merit, one of the country's highest honors.
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PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: (Speaking French).
ROSMAN: "You are the accent of the 6th arrondissement," Macron told Akbar in a ceremony at the Elysee Palace, "the voice of the French press."
A AKBAR: (Speaking French).
ROSMAN: At 73-years-old, Akbar still works seven days a week, 10 hours a day. That's rain or shine. Born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, the oldest of 10 children, he says growing up in poverty, he had one big dream - to make enough money to build his mom a house. So just before his 18th birthday, he left home, determined to make a better life abroad.
A AKBAR: Then I started to work hard and sending money to help my family and build a home. That's it.
ROSMAN: He arrived in Paris in 1973 and took up newspaper selling after an Argentinian friend suggested he join him. Akbar quickly fell in love with the job and thought nothing of working 18-hour days.
A AKBAR: Really, those days were, for me, paradise for me, you know, I enjoy it here.
ROSMAN: But that doesn't mean things were easy. He often slept on the streets to save money.
A AKBAR: I was always thinking my mother and her children. And I did it.
ROSMAN: He built his mom her house, and he kept making a modest living selling papers, despite hardships and abuse he sometimes faced. Throughout it, he's stayed positive.
A AKBAR: You can meet the bad people everywhere. And there are also good people everywhere.
ROSMAN: These days, everywhere he walks, Akbar is greeted with cheers and smiling faces.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Felicitations, Ali.
A AKBAR: Oh, bonjour.
ROSMAN: Strangers stop him every few minutes to congratulate him.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking French).
ROSMAN: But for his family, the honor he received is also about healing.
SHAHAB AKBAR: (Speaking French).
ROSMAN: His son, Shahab Akbar, says the recognition has put a bandage on old wounds. Ali Akbar says the president also promised him French citizenship. The Elysee wouldn't comment when NPR asked about it. People in the neighborhood say Ali Akbar has given them something priceless - a chance for daily human connection. Here's longtime customer Michel Mimran.
MICHEL MIMRAN: He's interested in you, and then you're interested in him. And this is very rare now in the big cities.
ROSMAN: These days, Akbar says he's lucky to make about 60 euros a day, around $70, selling papers. And when he finally goes someday, the newspaper hawker trade in Paris will go with him. But his impact on the neighborhood?
A AKBAR: Yes, say it. I have realized my dream.
ROSMAN: That's something that will keep people here talking.
Rebecca Rosman, NPR News, Paris. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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