What should we call in French this classic croissant dough filled with chocolate: Pain au chocolat or Chocolatine? The term Pain au chocolat is used by the vast majority of French people, as well as tourists, while Chocolatine endures in the Southwest where it is perceived as a source of regional pride.

This linguistic debate, which has been present in France for decades, has now reached the French Parliament, demonstrating the great importance that gastronomy is given in France. Last week ten deputies from the Gascony region presented an amendment asking that Chocolatine have the same status as Pain au chocolat in order to protect popular expressions and promote regional and quality products. An amendment that, after being debated by the rest of deputies, has been denied after the intervention of the Minister of Agriculture Stéphane Travert, who has indicated that it is not at the level of what is expected of the National Assembly.

As a historical fact, some media attribute the origin of this sweet dates back 180 years when the Austrian chef August Zang opened a bakery in Paris in the 1830s where he sold Viennese chocolate croissants called schokoladencroissants.