You don't really start a project in C unless you target limited hardware or some low-level library that can be embedded in other things and interact with other language that can make us of C-style APIs.

C became the "new assembly", meaning it sort of replaces the role assembly had. The chips that are sold are not programmed in assembly, because they're sold with a C compiler target directly.

C is more than a programming language, it's an universal glue, so it often makes sense to use C because it gives access to everything. It's like english: you can't expect to use esperanto just because it's a superior language. Programming languages are the same.

Disclaimer: I mainly use python and C++.