French book sales fell 2.3% last year as coronavirus hit bookshops

French book publishers’ sales fell by a “modest” 2.3% last year to around ‚Ǩ2.7bn from around ‚Ǩ2.8bn, according to French publishers association Syndicat National de l’Edition (SNE).

This showed books in France have an “exceptional resilience", the SNE said after its annual general meeting on 24th June.

“Bookshops’ closure for three-and-a-half months, because of the pandemic, could have been a disaster for our sector,” commented SNE president Vincent Montagne. "But the exceptional rebound in the summer and at the end of 2020 demonstrated the French people’s unfailing support for books and bookshops.”

A few days earlier, President Emmanuel Macron had announced that reading would be the next year-long "great national cause" starting this summer. The “great national cause” label was created in 1977. The theme changes each year, and has ranged from discrimination to AIDS.

Ahead of next spring is a new-look replacement for the Paris Book Fair, which has been cancelled for the past two years . The event will be held at the Grand Palais in central Paris from 22nd to 24th April. It will be a “celebration” of books, and will involve the performing arts and plastic arts, as well as all players in the book sector, Montagne told association members.

Separately, Gallimard parent company Madrigall will take over the prestigious Editions de Minuit with effect from 1st January next year. The deal will add Samuel Beckett, Margarite Duras and Alain Robbe-Grillet to the group’s stable of renowned authors.

But it will not change Gallimard’s ranking as the third largest French publisher, noted Fran√ßoise Benhamou, cultural economics professor at Université Sorbonne Paris Nord.