The industrial baguette (which includes those of a lot of bakeries) is pretty uninteresting, with a uniform and non-structural internal texture and a vaguely crusty exterior. Compare that to the radically different banette you can find at artisanal bakeries which unfortunately of course are hard to sustain financially outside wealthy enclaves.

Also if you didn't experience it, the food choices of the 60s, 70s, and even early 80s were pretty restricted and of poor quality in Europe, Australia and the USA (and likely elsewhere). Even in the USA where there was an explosion of products, the quality of the food was poor and largely undifferentiated. And thus with bread in France.

I was lucky that our home in Paris had several good bakeries within a few minutes' walk of our front door (including Poilâne's) but it was obvious that this was a product of economic good fortune. But when you venture out to the countryside in France or Germany the goods in shops primarily come from a truck from a faraway factory. Surprisingly this appears to me (unscientifically) to be more extreme in France than Germany

UK supermarket baguettes are a poor approximation of continental Europe's (I suppose most of my experience is of France's).

Actually, Waitrose's baguette - as opposed to its 'flute' or 'French stick' - is not bad. Not as good, but not bad. The cheaper flutes and sticks (which seem to be all that other places sell) are just.. completely different.

I've never had a baguette with a nice crispy outside that results in flakes all over the breakfast table, and a soft, fluffy, inside like those so prevalent in France though.

While I'm at it - tomatoes! Tomatoes are so much nicer in France too.