“It's crowded like Christmas Eve, except it's really sad.
“They are very numerous like Armelle, a young retiree from the public service, to have come this Thursday noon to fill their basket with books.
At the Divan, in Paris (15th century), as in all bookshops in France, it's the big day crowd.
Because tonight, the curtains will once again be drawn.
And for Armelle, ten novels in the hands of which a majority of classics like “In search of lost time” by Marcel Proust, “a life without books, without culture, it is just unthinkable”.
Antoine, in his thirties, doesn't really consider himself a great reader.
But for this Parisian IT specialist, it was really important to be there.
“When I heard that the bookstores were going to be closed again, I was angry, they are so important,” he insists.
“My salary was transferred this morning, so I decided to make a gesture of solidarity.
I think I have more than 100 euros!
He smiles.
Indeed he holds pockets but also the last Marc Levy, that of Franck Bouysse, a graphic novel, and a “Mortelle Adèle” for his grand-nephew.
"It's so sad to buy a book behind your screen"
With its 435 m2, Le Divan is one of the largest bookstores in France.
Nestled in the heart of the chic, family-friendly district of the Convention, it knows how to count on a loyal clientele in the event of a hard blow.
“I love this place so much, I can stay in front of the foreign literature section for hours to discover authors,” says Fleur, almost 30 years old.
For this graphic designer, nothing can replace a bookseller.
“Here, they are great and always provide good advice.
You will never get that on the Internet.
It's so sad to buy a book behind your screen, ”she laments.
It is not Philippe Touron, director of Divan who will contradict her.
"We are going to make a turnover equivalent to a day of Christmas gifts," he confirms.
So for him, as for all booksellers in France, this closure is a new blow.
Especially since these specialized brands had proudly managed to raise their heads after the first confinement where they had seen their turnover collapse.
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So from Emmanuel Macron's speech on Wednesday evening, all took their pilgrim's staff and went to challenge their elected officials, their politicians to try to keep their curtain up.
Even the Goncourt academy got involved to the point of announcing that the prestigious prize would not be awarded before the bookstores reopened.
Strongly supported by the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot, and Bruno Le Maire, her counterpart in the Economy, the professionals almost won their case ...
“For 5 months, with our masks, our gels, we have been exemplary and very few cases of Covid have been declared in bookstores,” insists Philippe Touron.
From tomorrow, the French will have no other choice to buy books than to go to supermarkets.
Worse, on Amazon, ”he denounces bitterly.
And don't tell booksellers that they still have the "click and collect" (the reader orders his book on the Internet and picks it up at the entrance of the store) to keep their head above water.
“These are stopgaps, 70% of our turnover comes from impulse buying.
On the Internet, we fall to 10%… ”