Sales on the up for French independent bookshops

French independent bookshops increased their sales by 7.1% last year, despite a 1.3% drop in December because of continuing yellow vest social protests and the start of transport and other strikes against national pension reform on December 5, according to the Booksellers Observatory—an offshoot of the Syndicat de la Librairie Fran√ßaise (SLF), the French Booksellers Association.

The increase came largely from textbooks for the new upper secondary school curriculum, and compares with an annual rise of only 0.7% in 2018. That was despite the yellow vest protetstors having taken to the streets in November, and 2017 having been particularly bleak because of the presidential and legislative elections between April and June.

The observatory is made up of 250 representative independents in France and Belgium. The SLF estimates that indies in France total 3,500.

Bookshops in urban centres have suffered most from the unrest, whereas those in outlying areas have been unscathed, said Xavier Moni, SLF president and co-founder of Comme un Roman in central Paris. He says he is more worried about sales this month because the strikes have continued, the gift-giving season is over and there are no big sellers on the shelves such as Michel Houellebecq’s Serotonin a year ago.

Publishers‚Äô sales rose by about 2% compared to last year. Vincent Montagne, president of the French Publishers Association (Syndicat de l‚ÄôEdition Fran√ßaise, SNE), said: “Overall, French publishing is holding up fairly well to the upheavals taking place in society," including new technologies and the development of "internet giants", Montagne told the book community at a New Year reception last week.

More detailed figures, which are to be released shortly, are expected to show a 4% year-on-year sales drop in December, which followed a 4.7 % decline from the same month in 2017 or 2.6% after adjustment for inflation, said Pierre Dutilleul, SNE director. The strikes and traffic jams have had no impact on logistics. “Publishers delivered Christmas stocks in November and early last month before the strikes began,” Dutilleul told The Bookseller. “We hope that all will return to normal soon.”