France's bookstores fight for survival after lockdown
Neighborhood bookstores found in France survived the television set and later the advent of over the internet shopping. Then emerged the coronavirus lockdown, an eight-week-long hiatus which has weighed heavily on income and threatens the survival of some retailers.
France's bookstores were allowed to reopen on Monday for the very first time since March 17 as the federal government tries to stability the need to resuscitate a good crashing economy with the risk that the propagate of the new coronavirus accelerates once again.
At the ICI bookstore in Paris' 2nd arrondissement, wearing a mask is compulsory and hand sanitizer is easily available at the front door and inside to allow customers to get and flick through whichever book catches their eye. "Folks are being careful never to feel the books an excessive amount of. And we inform them that if they contact the books, they are able to but they must use the (sanitizing) gel each time," said co-founder Anne-Laure Vial.
Bouetard's 12 workers are back again on the payroll after appearing temporarily furloughed, and the shop has applied for two loans to greatly help go over overhead costs. France is usually a paradise for bibliophiles. Significant chain booksellers exist, but independent bookstores are a ubiquitous feature of Parisian neighborhoods.
Inside, the bustle of the French capital slows to a sedate tempo due to patrons see the shelves. France offers jealously safeguarded its cultural life and institutions for many years. The French notion of 'l'exception culturelle' means more than cultural exceptionalism - it details to the fact that national culture ought to be shielded from free-industry forces. Subsidies, quotas, money support and tax breaks support prop up French music, cinema and literature. It also has a laws which prevents bookstores slashing rates in order to protect writers.
However, margins are tight. "The issue comes if we do not get enough organization to covers our costs," stated Vial, who is concerned about a slow rebound. "We should hold on for several months. It's not confirmed." The government is aware of the perils they and others face.
"They have incredibly weak margins, extremely weak profits, and they also could have trouble locating the finances to pay back loans," Financing Minister Bruno Le Maire said throughout a visit to some other bookstore last week. "We could possess a string of bankrupt bookstores. That's accurately what we want to avoid."
Browsing the ICI's shelves of comics among the 60,000 titles upon sale was six-year-previous Marcel di Nicola.
The lockdown, his mom Florence said, have been a rare possibility to focus on reading.
"We don't keep him alone before the television. In order soon simply because homework is done, we need to locate another activity then one he can do alone," she said.
---Reuters, Paris
