PARIS — There are Steelers bars all across Europe, from Spain to Serbia and a few countries in between.

But as I planned to travel from Pittsburgh to Paris, I discovered that somehow none were located in France.

How this could be? Paris is one of Europe’s biggest cities. Surely, there had to be a black-and-gold bar somewhere around here. But after chatting with a few Parisian members of Steeler Nation, I learned that this was not the case.

Then I wondered, does Paris have any establishments known for showing American football at all? And if so, what do those places even look like?

As someone who has a love of both journalism and cold beer, I decided to hit the streets of the City of Lights on Wednesday in search of answers.

My investigation began at The Moose, a Canadian sports bar located in the 6th arrondissement. The bar’s Instagram page advertised football watch parties and was said to be one of the more popular spots in Paris to catch a game.

I soon learned that must not be a very high bar to clear.

A New Orleans Saints scarf draped in the back right corner of the bar, just near a bathroom, was the lone NFL branding on display. Soccer was the sport of choice that night. Football seemed to be strictly reserved for Sundays.

The menu looked like one you’d see at a traditional American sports bar, albeit in French. The bar seemed like a normal place to watch sports, but nothing beyond what we Americans would consider to be a standard corner pub.

The next few bars I visited, which shall remain unnamed out of respect, failed to even meet that standard.

One bartender didn’t even know the Steelers and Saints were playing here Sunday. Another explained that his establishment, another suggestion from the locals I spoke with, showed one game a week, on one TV, to a crowd of less than a dozen.

By Thursday, I had nearly lost all hope. But the fourth and final place I investigated taught me that some people here actually do watch the NFL.

I walked into O’Sullivan’s, a popular Irish Pub chain in Paris, and sat at the bar. I began to ask the same series of questions I had at my previous stops.

The manager confirmed a theory that I had developed over the previous few days, that the popularity of American football was still in its infancy in Paris. He said that a few bars throughout the city recently established themselves as a consistent place to watch games for Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills fans.

He noted that a typical Sunday in the regular season draws 15-25 viewers in his bar, and he believes that’s one of the largest crowds in Paris.

Those numbers grow during the NFL playoffs. His bar hosted Super Bowl events the last two seasons that drew crowds north of 100 people.

Some bars would see these numbers and view any additional effort as a waste of time. But this manager, Ofec Szmelcman Sela, sees an upward trend.

He added that in recent days the New Orleans Saints stopped by his bar asking to form a partnership. Their goal was to list O’Sullivan’s as an official spot where their fans could gather in the days leading up to Sunday’s kickoff.

But this was no short-term agreement. Szmelcman Sela said the Saints expressed interest in maintaining the partnership after the game, to remain a spot where they could let French fans know football would be there for consumption.

The Saints made similar efforts with other establishments, as well.

So while Paris’ bar culture might be currently lacking when it comes to places to enjoy an American football Sunday, perhaps seeds have been planted this week to ensure that will change over time.

Perhaps the next time the Steelers play in Paris, finding a football bar won’t be a challenge.

And if that is indeed the case, we will have Sunday’s Steelers-Saints game to thank for that.

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