French bookshops to re-enter lockdown

French bookshops and libraries will close for at least 15 days from 30 October, as the country enters a second lockdown to curb the rise in Covid-19 cases, reports the Bookseller.

The lockdown will last until at least 1 December, with non-essential store closures to be reviewed every fortnight based on the latest Covid-19 numbers.

Prior to the lockdown announcement, the French publishers’, writers’ and booksellers’ associations had made an appeal to the government to request that bookstores be allowed to remain open, reported Publishing Perspectives. ‘Authors, illustrators, publishers, and booksellers hereby launch a solemn, united, and responsible appeal to the government: Keep our bookstores open so that the social containment does not also mean cultural isolation,’ the message to government read. ‘Our readers, who are so attached to their independent bookstores, would not understand it and would experience it as an injustice.’

Renowned Paris bookstore Shakespeare & Company said in a letter to supporters that its sales were down almost 80% since March. ‘Like many independent businesses, we are struggling, trying to see a way forward during this time when we’ve been operating at a loss.’

Category: International news