It is the largest open-air bookstore in the world, according to the Paris City Hall, and one of the emblems of the French capital. But the booksellers on the banks of the Seine are less and less numerous, the fault in particular of the health crisis. The city has therefore opened a call for applications until February 18 to fill the vacant positions.
Old books, posters, vinyls…they are still piled up on the last open stalls along the Seine. Because in Paris, booksellers are rare.
” It’s a little weird that it’s empty, that there aren’t many people, entrusts a tourist to the microphone of Lise Cloix. But it’s still nice. »
To give them a boost, this client, looking for a decorative print, prefers the local: ” I looked on Amazon before coming but I thought back to my walks on the quays and I wanted to come to a second-hand bookseller for the somewhat authentic side. »
In forty years in the business, Alain has seen his colleagues leave little by little. ” Before, he said, there were few places for many requests, now it’s the other way around. There are not many tourists, people circulating. »
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Little hope for the future
A few meters away, his colleague Georges Montero no longer even believes in the future of this profession: “ Look how sad it is, I’m the only one open. It is a profession from which we no longer live. A young person who wants to start? It’s not even worth it… »
Since the health crisis, it has become complicated to earn a living by being a bookseller. ” We don’t count the hours continues Georges Montero. If we had to do it, we wouldn’t reach the salary of a cleaning lady… Friday I made 22 euros. »
Despite this, the City of Paris has already received 25 requests to fill the 18 pitches still vacant. To give a boost to their activity, the booksellers have submitted, with the support of the City of Paris, their application to obtain their inscription on the Intangible World Heritage of Unesco.