But not just any day. A particular Tuesday, September 9th 2008.
Early in the morning of said Tuesday, Francois S. enters the bakery "El Pan" in a poor neighborhood of Badalona. He has not slept well. The night before it rained for the first time after many weeks and he had to seek shelter under a nearby bridge. He is weary and starving as he goes into the bakery past the cashier, reaches out, grabs a baguette and attempts to leave without paying. The woman at the cashier also reaches out and manages to grab the other side of the baguette. She doesn't let go until Francois S. threatens her in french, pushes her away trying to take the bread out of her hands. As she holds firm, the baguette is broken in two and Francois S. flees the bakery with only half of the bread. Later on the same day, upon being arrested by local policemen he still has some crams of that half baguette all over his ragged shirt.
Two days ago, Francois S. is under trial for having stolen half a baguette. He is tried in absentia as the authorities had no way to locate the bridge under which he is currently sleeping. With or without him present, the public prosecutor asked for the maximum penalty to be imposed against Francois S. Eighteen months for the violent robbery of half a loaf of bread.
It could have been a mockery of Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" with Francois as Jean Valjean and with the attorney playing the role of Javert. Only it is a true story and you can read about it here.
In case the prosecutor has not read the book, he may want to know that in the end, Javert commits suicide
by jumping from a bridge into the Seine. And although the river Besos, flowing through Badalona, may not be deep enough to serve for this purpose, he may end up meeting Francois S. still sleeping below one of the bridges.
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