France, Nov. 2 -- Ali Akbar of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, has been hawking newspapers in Paris's Left Bank district for more than five decades. While sales are dwindling, the job has allowed him to lift his family out of poverty and earned him a knighthood- a testament to a local legend, and the end of an era.
Akbar's been treading these pavements since 1973. He started out sellingCharlie Hebdo and Liberation, then Le Monde- which he still pedals seven days a week from around 3pm to midnight.
Keeping up with Paris's last paperboy is a feat in itself. "I walk between 12 and 15 kilometres a day. That's why I'm so thin," says the spindly 73-year-old as he darts from one cafe terrace to another, shouting "Ça y est!"-"That's it!"
His route ta...