French Bakers Make World's Longest Baguette, Beating Italy

French bakers react after having finished cooking the baguette in an attempt to beat the world record for the longest baguette during the Suresnes Baguette Show in Suresnes near Paris, France, May 5, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
French bakers react after having finished cooking the baguette in an attempt to beat the world record for the longest baguette during the Suresnes Baguette Show in Suresnes near Paris, France, May 5, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
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French Bakers Make World's Longest Baguette, Beating Italy

French bakers react after having finished cooking the baguette in an attempt to beat the world record for the longest baguette during the Suresnes Baguette Show in Suresnes near Paris, France, May 5, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
French bakers react after having finished cooking the baguette in an attempt to beat the world record for the longest baguette during the Suresnes Baguette Show in Suresnes near Paris, France, May 5, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

French bakers cooked the world's longest baguette on Sunday at 140.53 meters (461 ft), reclaiming a record for one of the nation's best-known emblems taken by Italy for five years.
The baguette, about 235 times longer than the traditional one, was made in Suresnes in the suburbs of Paris during an event for the French confederation of bakers and pastry chefs.
The previous longest baguette of 132.62 meters was baked in the Italian city of Como in June 2019.
To better that, the French bakers began kneading and shaping the dough at 3 a.m. before putting it in a specially-built slow-moving oven on wheels, Reuters reported.
"Everything has been validated, we are all very happy to have beaten this record and that it was done in France," Anthony Arrigault, one of the bakers, said after the baguette was approved by the Guinness World Records judge.
Part of the baguette, which had to be at least 5 cm thick throughout, was cut and shared with the public.
The rest was to be given to homeless people.
The traditional French baguette must be about 60 cm long, be made from wheat flour, water, salt and yeast only, and weigh about 250 grams, according to the official regulation.



Mexico Awaits New Response from Google on Dispute Over Gulf of Mexico Name Before Filing Lawsuit 

The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)
The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)
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Mexico Awaits New Response from Google on Dispute Over Gulf of Mexico Name Before Filing Lawsuit 

The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)
The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)

Mexico said Monday it is awaiting a new response from Google to its request that the tech company fully restore the name “Gulf of Mexico” to its Google Maps service before filing a lawsuit.

President Claudia Sheinbaum shared a letter addressed to her government from Cris Turner, Google’s vice president of government affairs and public policy. It says that Google will not change the policy it outlined after US President Donald Trump declared the body of water the Gulf of America.

“We will wait for Google’s response and if not, we will proceed to court,” Sheinbaum said Monday during a morning press briefing.

As it stands, the gulf appears in Google Maps as “Gulf of America” within the United States, as “Gulf of Mexico” within Mexico and “Gulf of Mexico” (Gulf of America) elsewhere. Turner in his letter said the company was using “Gulf of America” to follow “longstanding maps policies impartially and consistently across all regions” and that the company was willing to meet in person with the Mexican government.

“While international treaties and conventions are not intended to regulate how private mapping providers represent geographic features, it is our consistent policy to consult multiple authoritative sources to provide the most up to date and accurate representation of the world,” he wrote.

Mexico has argued that the mapping policy violates Mexican sovereignty because the US only has jurisdiction over around 46% of the Gulf. The rest is controlled by Mexico, which controls 49% and Cuba, which controls around 5%. The name “Gulf of Mexico” dates back to 1607 and is recognized by the United Nations.

In response to Google's letter, Mexican authorities said they would take legal action, writing that “under no circumstance will Mexico accept the renaming of a geographic zone within its own territory and under its jurisdiction.”

The renaming of the body of water by Trump has flared tensions between Mexico and the US at a pivotal time for the neighboring allies.

Sheinbaum has had to walk a fine line with Trump amid threats of tariffs and Mexico and other Latin American countries have braced themselves for promised mass deportations, the brunt of which has still not been felt.

Along with the legal threat to Google, the Mexican president also announced Monday that Mexico and the US would hold high-level meetings this week on trade and security in an effort to maintain a “long-term plan of collaboration” between the two countries.

It's the latest round of talks between the two countries in which Mexico hopes to hold off a larger geopolitical crisis.