Since the beginning of June, along the parapets of the Seine quays, almost two thirds of the wagon green boxes have remained closed. Some passers-by slow down in front of the few survivors, before immediately leaving in the maze of neighboring streets.
Read also: The closure of the Boulinier bookstore triggers a wave of emotion and indignation in Paris
Since the coronavirus crisis, many emblematic bookstores have been forced to close shops, such as the legendary Boulinier brand, and it is now the turn of these outdoor book merchants to ring the alarm bell.
Too long perceived as "peripatetic tramps making the sidewalk" , specifies Jérôme Callais who has kept his boxes for 28 years, the booksellers are the direct heirs of the hawkers and yet perpetuate an old French tradition of the 16th century. Registered in the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture since 2018, they alone embody an image of France that the new generation does not want to see disappear. Two students from Bordeaux, Grégoire Cazcarra, President and founder of the citizen movement Les Engagés , and Cloé Artaut, its coordinator, launched a petition “ Save book sellers, a civilization issue!”, For this profession which needs it more than ever Support.
The booksellers alone embody a certain idea of France that the new generation does not want to see disappear. Lea Mabilon
Read also: The story of secondhand booksellers told in Le Figaro Littéraire of 1910
LE FIGAROSCOPE.- Recently, Paris learned of the closure of the emblematic Boulinier brand, as well as other bookstores in the Latin Quarter. How did you get the news?
Grégoire CAZCARRA.- The Boulinier bookstore embodied, with others, the spirit of Saint-Germain. Unfortunately, its closure is due to a phenomenon that goes far beyond the borders of the sixth arrondissement of Paris. Each year, in the four corners of France, thousands of independent booksellers close their doors.
Jérôme CALLAIS.- Every bookstore is a nest, a nursery for readers, culture and customers. When one closes, a whole set of passion dies. And this also affects us.
“We are not sure that all the booksellers will survive this crisis. "
Jérôme CallaisWhat are the losses caused by the health crisis on the secondhand booksellers?
JC- First, they are human. We are not sure that all booksellers will survive this crisis. Some were sick. Others went online during the confinement period and may not return. We are in the fourth week of deconfinement, and 90% of the clientele is absent. Without foreign and provincial tourists and residents of the suburbs who no longer dare to take public transportation, only the residents of the surrounding districts remain. To give you a figure, we make between 5 and 10 euros per day ... It is dramatic. And even if we have benefited from state aid, these finances are not without limits.
Jérôme Callais, why did you take the initiative to become President of the Cultural Association of Secondhand Booksellers in Paris?
JC- My goal has always been to promote our “small corporation” in the eyes of the public and to provide support to our community in the event of a problem. But I was also tired of reading nonsense about us. The bookseller is a character full of fantasy, but historiographers often relate incorrect figures, dates, or historical facts. I wanted to put some truth into everything that is said about us.
Jérôme Callais, President of the Cultural Association of Secondhand Booksellers in France, in front of his green boxes, installed on the Quai de Conti. Lea Mabilon
Grégoire Cazcarra and Cloé Artaut, you are both students and have launched a petition for the survival of the profession. Can we say that there is a new enthusiasm among young people for reading?
GC- Our reading report has changed, if only because of competition from screens. But it would be unwise to say that the new generation no longer reads. The confinement allowed many young people to regain a taste for reading. Let us hope that this enthusiasm is not only a fad and triggers a real collective awareness.
How did you end up championing the cause of "green boxes"?
Cloé ARTAUT.- It came to me during confinement, falling back on a novel that I had bought from a Parisian bookseller. That day, in addition to a book, I left with a list of personalized advice. Beyond the profession, this profession is a way of experiencing literature, other than when ordered from the Internet. The youth, who are accused of all carelessness and inertia, know how to mobilize for causes that are dear to them.
GC- Personally, I discovered booksellers at the same time as Paris, at 17, at random from a stroll on the quays. Then I ended up becoming a regular. They embody better than anyone a certain idea of France, literary and romantic. We couldn't bring ourselves to let them go.
Most booksellers today find themselves in a survival economy. Lea Mabilon
Their unique character helps to forge the role they occupy in the collective imagination, and to make them true emblems.
Cloé ArtautAn image of Epinal that it is important to preserve…
JC- Yes, and it's not just an image, it's also a reality. We really have a bohemian and romantic side, inevitable when we see what we earn ... It's not just a cliché.
CA- And then, this is what makes their charm and their identity. We also go to a bookseller for these long moments of passionate dialogue. Their unique character helps to forge the role they occupy in the collective imagination, and to make them true emblems.
Jérôme Callais, in 2018 you managed to register the booksellers of Paris to the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Is this not a great victory for the profession?
JC- Indeed! It was very important because it was a measure of recognition on the part of the Ministry of Culture. This brought us the consideration of those who sometimes saw us almost as "tramps". The next step for us is the inscription to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. And today we have more support, especially from the whole intellectual elite and the Institut de France. Emmanuel Macron and Bernard Pivot, among others, also expressed their support by email!
At the start of June, only a third of secondhand booksellers are open along the Quays of the Seine. Lea Mabilon