In the U.S. the prosperity of your local Starbucks has been viewed as an economic indicator, so why not at Cannes? Producer Noah Harlan of 2.1 Films sent the following email answering the question of whether or not there are fewer people on the Croissette this year.

Everyone is talking about how quiet it is this year. Sales are slow according to most of the sellers I’ve met with but the best arbiter of whether the crowds are down was relayed to me by a sales agent with a stand in the market. He said he was having a coffee at the market coffee bar and talking to the barista who said there were fewer people this year. When asked how he knew he pointed out that in a typical year, on a typical day, he serves 400-500 coffees. This year he hasn’t served more than 300 on any day.