Bookstores ask to be able to stay open during confinement

Illustration of a woman in a bookstore.

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After the announcement on Wednesday of confinement by the President of the Republic, booksellers are sounding the alarm.

They ask that their businesses remain open over the period and be considered "essential," reports

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Bookstores had to close during the first confinement in the spring, but now hope to benefit from a derogation.

"Reading books is an activity essential to our civic and individual lives," said the National Publishing Union, the Permanent Council of Writers and the National Union of French Libraries in a press release.

The Goncourt price postponed

According to professionals, bookstores have been able to adapt to the restrictive measures.

"They may be perfectly able to accommodate readers […] in safe and proven sanitary conditions," the statement continued.

The end of year celebrations are indeed an essential period for the sector.

“A quarter of books sold in France are sold between November and December,” recently explained Anne Martel, president of the French bookstore union on France Inter.

“On average, that's 25% of a bookstore's turnover at the end of the year.

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In response to this closure, the Académie Goncourt decided to postpone the announcement of its award, which was due to take place on November 10.

A later date should be communicated "depending on the evolution of the health situation and government decisions taken," the Academy said.

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