Paris (AFP)
The conditions for the reopening of bookstores, which have been closed since Sunday, have not yet been met, estimated the Syndicat de la librairie française (SLF) while the Minister of the Economy proposed Thursday to study the case of the reopening of bookstores in consultation with the Ministry of Culture.
"The economic cost for our profession will be considerable and we are all anxious to reopen and find the readers but, today, the health priority takes precedence over any other issue, including financial," said the professional union of independent booksellers in a statement.
Asked Thursday morning about France Inter, Bruno Le Maire had raised the hypothesis of a reopening of bookstores to respond to competition from Amazon.
"I do not see why it would only be Amazon which would recover this market at the risk of weakening the booksellers," said the Minister of Economy in particular.
"Basically, we totally agree (Bruno Le Maire) to consider the bookstore as a business of first necessity and count on its support so that no bookstore is pushed to close by this major crisis," replied the SLF.
"Nevertheless, added the union, the booksellers' profession does not wish to respond to the health risk of the continuation of book deliveries by Amazon with the additional risk that would reopen bookstores with all the inevitable contacts that it would entail between booksellers and customers ".
"At a time when we are told that the confinement of people is not sufficiently respected, premature reopening would be dangerous," said the SLF.
The SLF had issued a press release on Wednesday in which it stressed "the heresy in health represented by the continuation of deliveries and sales of books on internet platforms and in mass distribution".
Independent booksellers are divided on whether to reopen or not. "We want to remain closed," said the La Flibuste bookstore in the Paris suburbs.
"No reopening of bookstores and Amazon must stop non-essential deliveries," said the bookstore on its Twitter account.
The manager of the Abbesses bookstore in Paris, Marie-Rose Guarnieri, pleaded for an opening, "on a voluntary basis", two hours a day.
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