Here. One would almost want to say, with resignation: "And one more!" . With its flamboyant red storefront, it's impossible to miss this little stall on rue Séguier, located in the heart of the Latin Quarter in the 6th arrondissement.
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Specializing in archeology, ancient history and architecture, the Picard & Epona bookstore had made a place for itself in the legendary district of the capital, renowned for its countless literary institutions.
" It was my favorite bookstore ," exclaims a passerby, seeing the shop closed. " I went there very regularly, just after my turn at the Mazarine bookstore ," he continues with disappointment. This Friday, May 29, the brand of the publishing group Actes Sud with some 10,000 copies, closed its doors definitively, leaving behind a vast empty space. Inside, you can spot the location of its former tenants on the shelves. Outside, a blue sign " for rent " sets the tone.
We wanted to set up this bookstore by targeting originals and children's books, but we have to face the facts, people no longer come. So it didn't work
Françoise Nyssen, director of Actes Sud publications.Another door closed. One more lock that seals the fate of bookstores in the neighborhood. Because to this sad news is also added that of the Boulinier bookstore, an illustrious second-hand book sign housed on Boulevard Saint-Michel, which also announced its final closure in mid-June. The cause ? Too high rents, a lack of help from the public service and a health crisis that did not help.
The old Picard & Epona bookshop, after the definitive closure of its shop. Lea Mabilon
Read also: The Boulinier bookstore closes its doors on boulevard Saint-Michel, in June
Luxury on the shelves
If on the side of Éditions Actes Sud and its director Françoise Nyssen, former Minister of Culture, " the decision to close Picard & Epona was made before the start of confinement ", it nevertheless supports the urgency of these establishments in the process of disappearance.
In front of the Picard & Epona bookstore, at the corner of rue Séguier and rue Saint-André-des-Arts, there is also another brand of the publishing house, having taken the path of the exodus two years ago.
“ We wanted to set up this bookstore by targeting originals and children's books, but we have to face the facts, people no longer come. So it didn't work, ”says Françoise Nyssen. Abandoned places that add up in a Latin Quarter that is collapsing culturally. “ Where have bookstores like the Divan gone? Why did these institutions close? , questions the manager of the publishing house. Because no one can assure the rents, and these will possibly be bought by luxury stores. This is the reality. "
A bookstore that closes is always a tragedyA terrible blow for these lovers of the book who indulged in the simple happiness of plunging their noses into the pages of a book.
Dematerialize to rule better?
" A bookstore that closes is always a tragedy, " says a second passerby, stopping his net bike in front of the empty showcase of Picard & Epola. But for the director of Actes Sud, this closure represents on the contrary an act of survival. Because faced with the rise of digital tablets and online sales, traders have no choice but to align.
“ The archeology and history sector is very important but nevertheless remains difficult to defend. Closing our place in the 6th arrondissement and favoring mail order, which represents a large part of our activity, is our only option to continue to exist, ” she ends up explaining.
The Mazarine bookstore, located in rue Mazarine in the 6th arrondissement, is also preparing to sell its shop to the highest bidder. Lea Mabilon
Pierre Durieu, owner of the Mazarine bookstore located a few streets away, also seems to have capitulated. The independent shops for specialized books and old books are inexorably doomed to disappear.
This 70-year-old man, passionate about literature from a very young age, is also about to sell his shop. “ I have been looking for a replacement for my bookstore for a year and a half. But I specialize in old books, and no one wants more. "
If some customers still crowd in this shop with typically Parisian charm, the manager is formal: "In the neighborhood, the bookstores close all one after the other anyway." So it's decided. Soon, he will leave to retire in the Midi and make his own olive oil. And never mind if you have to give in to a butcher or a ready-to-wear store. "