The Fort Worth Press - Paris outdoor booksellers eager to turn page on Covid

USD -
AED 3.673005
AFN 68.386442
ALL 93.021933
AMD 389.349314
ANG 1.803734
AOA 913.000031
ARS 1002.721397
AUD 1.53358
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.702057
BAM 1.854577
BBD 2.020785
BDT 119.602116
BGN 1.858799
BHD 0.376916
BIF 2956.030306
BMD 1
BND 1.344124
BOB 6.930721
BRL 5.790848
BSD 1.000863
BTN 84.433613
BWP 13.672612
BYN 3.275301
BYR 19600
BZD 2.017372
CAD 1.39639
CDF 2864.999911
CHF 0.88374
CLF 0.035265
CLP 973.069559
CNY 7.241401
CNH 7.24719
COP 4396.59
CRC 508.251983
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 104.558213
CZK 24.0877
DJF 178.22092
DKK 7.087555
DOP 60.364405
DZD 133.750861
EGP 49.678296
ERN 15
ETB 124.782215
EUR 0.950275
FJD 2.269701
FKP 0.789317
GBP 0.791103
GEL 2.740301
GGP 0.789317
GHS 15.887842
GIP 0.789317
GMD 71.000247
GNF 8627.008472
GTQ 7.726299
GYD 209.391416
HKD 7.782965
HNL 25.291226
HRK 7.133259
HTG 131.472895
HUF 390.756993
IDR 15903.25
ILS 3.732285
IMP 0.789317
INR 84.493503
IQD 1311.043259
IRR 42092.505939
ISK 138.290123
JEP 0.789317
JMD 158.639851
JOD 0.709302
JPY 154.656495
KES 129.249619
KGS 86.506766
KHR 4038.536303
KMF 467.499881
KPW 899.999621
KRW 1398.125025
KWD 0.30759
KYD 0.834076
KZT 497.17423
LAK 21976.521459
LBP 89633.50686
LKR 291.187013
LRD 181.150969
LSL 18.152914
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.883414
MAD 9.998293
MDL 18.214834
MGA 4685.233124
MKD 58.48862
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.999946
MOP 8.024142
MRU 39.785889
MUR 46.412517
MVR 15.460006
MWK 1735.461174
MXN 20.325297
MYR 4.464971
MZN 63.950307
NAD 18.152914
NGN 1680.590024
NIO 36.829479
NOK 11.03348
NPR 135.09167
NZD 1.703345
OMR 0.385001
PAB 1.000778
PEN 3.7981
PGK 4.029035
PHP 59.039501
PKR 278.226704
PLN 4.126669
PYG 7838.117183
QAR 3.649699
RON 4.729799
RSD 111.205995
RUB 101.000437
RWF 1380.157217
SAR 3.754257
SBD 8.355531
SCR 13.619994
SDG 601.497088
SEK 11.030315
SGD 1.343699
SHP 0.789317
SLE 22.575045
SLL 20969.504736
SOS 571.975839
SRD 35.43028
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.757041
SYP 2512.529858
SZL 18.142596
THB 34.647019
TJS 10.658746
TMT 3.5
TND 3.159078
TOP 2.342102
TRY 34.465475
TTD 6.776157
TWD 32.567494
TZS 2652.359028
UAH 41.269214
UGX 3693.413492
UYU 42.784805
UZS 12854.406494
VES 46.433371
VND 25422.5
VUV 118.722009
WST 2.791591
XAF 622.001915
XAG 0.032192
XAU 0.000375
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.761528
XOF 622.001915
XPF 113.087675
YER 249.924998
ZAR 18.116198
ZMK 9001.198706
ZMW 27.697968
ZWL 321.999592
  • CMSC

    0.1800

    24.7

    +0.73%

  • RYCEF

    0.1900

    6.8

    +2.79%

  • GSK

    0.0050

    33.355

    +0.01%

  • RBGPF

    -0.5000

    59.69

    -0.84%

  • RELX

    0.4400

    45.55

    +0.97%

  • RIO

    -0.1000

    62.29

    -0.16%

  • AZN

    0.5800

    63.78

    +0.91%

  • SCS

    0.0550

    13.125

    +0.42%

  • BP

    0.3050

    29.385

    +1.04%

  • NGG

    -0.5110

    62.759

    -0.81%

  • CMSD

    0.1450

    24.405

    +0.59%

  • JRI

    0.0300

    13.26

    +0.23%

  • BCC

    3.4150

    140.825

    +2.42%

  • VOD

    -0.0350

    8.905

    -0.39%

  • BCE

    -0.3700

    26.63

    -1.39%

  • BTI

    -0.1000

    36.98

    -0.27%

Paris outdoor booksellers eager to turn page on Covid
Paris outdoor booksellers eager to turn page on Covid

Paris outdoor booksellers eager to turn page on Covid

The open-air booksellers of Paris, a fixture along the banks of the Seine for centuries, are seeing their numbers dwindle after two years of Covid, with stalls going empty thanks to a dearth of local and foreign customers.

Text size:

Tending dark green boxes packed with second-hand works that are often rare or special editions, the dealers enjoy rent-free access but must follow rules set by the city, including a minimum number of days open each week.

Vendors like Jean-Pierre Mathias, 74, have become as much a part of the Paris landscape as the nearby Notre-Dame cathedral.

For him, it's not just a job but a calling, a chance to engage with curious clients in the fresh air, and something to get him up every day.

"My boxes are a hundred years old, they still open fine and thanks to them I'm still in good health -- a bouquiniste doesn't stop working until he can no longer open them," said Mathias, using the French term for the venerated dealers.

But he acknowledges that "some of my colleagues don't open much these days, they've given up a bit with this crisis".

Times have been tough for the roughly 220 booksellers since 2018, when the "yellow vest" anti-government movement erupted, sparking protests for months and driving away potential clients as police imposed lockdowns across much of central Paris.

And then Covid struck, depriving one of the world's most visited cities of tourists looking for special literary editions -- or the vintage posters, Eiffel Tower keychains and other mementos many sellers now rely on to supplement their earnings.

In a pristine spot on the Left Bank, opposite the statue of Enlightenment philosopher Condorcet, Mathias tended the only stands open in the shadow of the Louvre museum -- the other boxes were all padlocked shut.

"A lot of times we're just there standing around, you have to be really dedicated to open" when clients are scarce, especially tourists, said Jerome Callais, president of the Bouquinistes association.

"Only a fourth of our clients come from the Paris region," he said.

- 'Part of Paris' -

City officials recently launched a call for candidates to take over 18 empty spots along the Seine, but so far only 25 offers have been submitted, compared with around 60 for a similar number of openings in recent years.

"We're looking for literary specialists who can perpetuate the biggest open-air bookstore in the world," deputy mayor Olivia Polski, in charge of local commerce, told AFP.

"But we still have a month to go" before the deadline for offers on February 18, she said.

For Callais, who has ferreted out rare gems for clients at his stand across from the Louvre museum for three decades, it's a chance to work "in an extraordinary setting".

"Being a bouquiniste is often your last job -- you've done other things before. But once you start, you can't stop," he said.

"We're a key symbol of Paris, unique in the world -- we've been here for 450 years," he added.

For Mathias, who specialises in psychology works, he and his colleagues fill a niche that has become all the more important after the closure of historic Latin Quarter bookshops like Gibert Jeune in recent years, and the rise of Amazon.

Many of his clients are students from the Sorbonne and other universities nearby, because "there aren't any psychology bookstores in Paris anymore".

"But there are fewer of them these days -- between having to work from home and crimped budgets, it's harder for them as well," he said.

Jean-Michel Manassero, a retiree who was visiting his children in the capital, said that even though he buys books online, he still sought out the expertise and "hidden gems" along the Seine.

"Here it's different, you're drawn to a strange or unique book, and they have their own story -- sometimes you find the notes left by previous owners," he said.

"It'd really be a shame if they disappeared, because they're a part of Paris life," he said, after paying for an unlikely find with a battered cover: "How to Become a Medium".

S.Rocha--TFWP