The Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie is an international, invitational artisan baking competition held in Paris, France, every three to four years. Begun in 1992 by Christian Vabret, president of the Ecole Française de Boulangerie d'Aurillac, to reverse what he considered to be a decline in bread quality, the Coupe du Monde is a competition where bakers who practice the craft of artisan baking compete against teams from other nations, using traditional techniques. The purpose of the competition is to gather artisan bakers from around the world to celebrate their profession, share knowledge of artisan baking techniques, and reinstate the value of the artisan baking profession.