Paris (AFP)

Between La Poste, which is reducing its mail routes this week, and newspaper merchants weakened by the decline in their turnover, the paper press fears to be a collateral victim of the coronavirus.

La Poste announced it last week: for health reasons, mail delivery should be concentrated on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

"Postal distribution, an essential public service mission, is central for many titles and its interruption, even partial, poses a problem of access to information for all and creates a major economic risk for an already very fragile sector", deplores the Alliance of the General Information Press (APIG).

"For us, not having postal delivery on Monday is a huge prejudice. We have a contract with the readers, we owe them the daily newspaper", regretted Monday on Europe 1 Marc Feuillée, president of the Syndicate of the daily press National (SPQN) and Director General of Figaro.

The press criticizes La Poste for a unilateral decision when "in this difficult period, newspapers represent an essential vector of social ties - and sometimes the only one, especially for some of the most fragile audiences and in the most isolated areas of our territory ", underlines the APIG.

According to this organization which represents nearly 300 national and regional titles - except magazine -, it is up to 500,000 subscribers of the daily press and 450,000 of the regional weekly press which would be affected.

For publishers, the decision is all the more difficult to accept as the newsrooms continue to work despite the difficult context and sometimes even resort to partial unemployment, as in Paris or at Midi-Libre.

The editor-in-chief of the Center-France group (La Montagne, L'Yonne Républicaine ...), Sandrine Thomas, for her part launched an online petition to request the maintenance of the passage of mail "at least every other day" . More than 8,000 people signed on Monday.

The boss of Les Echos and the Parisian Pierre Louette, who believes that this decision will deprive "2 million readers of their newspapers and magazines" has promised his subscribers the maintenance of a link, especially with digital editions.

In Le Figaro, a little over 40% of subscribers receive their newspaper by post, the rest being transported by portage, says Marc Feuillée, who says he understands "health constraints": "there is no question of endangering health from anyone ".

-Discussions in progress -

At La Voix du Nord, 80% of the distribution is done by portage, "which works perfectly", the carriers being "equipped with gloves and gel", explained to AFP Gabriel d'Harcourt, director of the publication, adding that distribution by La Poste represented less than 1.5% of sales.

On Twitter, Gabriel d'Harcourt relayed the initiative of the Dunkirk City Council, which intends to regularly buy 200 copies of La Voix du Nord to distribute them at noon, with meals, to the homes of people who cannot get around.

Discussions between the press and La Poste remain open, according to Marc Feuillée: "we must work together this week, what I hope is that we will find solutions".

A need all the more pressing since in the kiosks, the situation is deteriorating, according to the union of press dealers Culture Presse.

If a majority remain open (more than 8 out of 10 according to the last score), their turnover is in sharp decline, due to the reduced hours and the fall in attendance.

"The vast majority of independent stores are in a fragile situation. And their cash will quickly become problematic," said their study published Monday.

"The risk is high, of closings in number, but also of disappearance of these sellers of local cultural goods, victims of a health crisis that is likely to last," she said.

And this without taking into account the very serious situation of the distributor Presstalis, whose bankruptcy filing was suspended during the health crisis.

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