Here. One would almost want to say, with resignation : “And one more!”. With its facade of red garnet, you can not miss this little shop of the rue Séguier, located in the heart of the Latin Quarter in the 6th arrondissement.
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Specializing in archaeology, ancient history and architecture, librairie Picard & Epona had made it a place of choice in this mythical area of the capital, famous for its countless institutions, literary.
” It was my favorite bookstore “, exclaims with astonishment, a passer-by, seeing the shop closed . “I put a very regularly, just after my turn at the librairie Mazarine “, he continued, without concealing his disappointment. This Friday, may 29, the group’s brand of edition Actes Sud, with some 10 000 copies, has closed its doors permanently, leaving behind a vast empty local. Inside, one finds on the shelves the location of its former tenants. Outside, a blue sign “for rent” sets the tone.
We wanted to climb this library focusing on the originals and the books, but it should be obvious, people do not come. So it didn’t work
Françoise Nyssen, director of Actes Sud.
This new lock seals a little more to the fate of bookstores in the neighborhood. Because of this sad news also adds that the library Boulinier, illustrates and teaches from the book of opportunity located on the boulevard Saint-Michel, which has also announced its closure in mid-June. The cause ? Rents too high, a lack of support on the part of the public service and a health crisis that has nothing arranged.
The old librairie Picard & Epona, after the final closure of his shop. Leah MabilonÀ read also : The library Boulinier farm closed its doors on the boulevard Saint-Michel, in juinDu luxury on the shelves
If on the side of the Editions Actes Sud and of its director Françoise Nyssen, former minister of Culture, “the decision to close Picard & Epona was taken before the start of the containment”, it nonetheless supports the urgency of these institutions endangered.
In front of the store, just around the corner of the rue Séguier and the rue Saint-André-des-Arts, camps, moreover, another sign of the publishing house, having taken the path of the exodus two years ago.
” We wanted to set up this library focusing on the originals and the books, but it should be obvious, people do not come. So it didn’t work, ” says Françoise Nyssen. Of abandoned places that add up in a Latin Quarter in full decline. “What happened to in bookshops such as the Couch ? Why are these institutions are they closed ?, questions the director of the publishing house. Because no one can ensure the rents, and these may be redeemed by the luxury shops. That’s the reality. “
A library that closes, it is always a tragedy
A terrible blow to these lovers of the book who were engaged in simple happiness to plunge their nose into the pages of a book.
Dematerialize-and-conquer ?
“A library that closes it is always a tragedy,” says a second passing, stopping his bike net in the face at the window empty of Picard & Epona. But for Françoise Nyssen, this closure would be on the contrary an act of survival. As a response to the rise of digital tablets and the on-line sale, traders have not other choice than to align.
” The sector of archaeology and the history is very important but remains nonetheless difficult to defend. To close our place in the 6th district and to give priority to the sale by correspondence, which is a big part of our business, is our only option to continue to exist,” ends it by explaining.
librairie Mazarine, located in the 6th arrondissement, is preparing also to sell her shop to the highest bidder. Leah Mabilon
Pierre Durieu, owner of the librairie Mazarine, located just a few blocks away, does not seem to be of the same opinion. According to him, the independent shops of specialist books and ancient books are inexorably doomed to disappear.
Passionate about literature since childhood, this man of 70 years preparing also to sell. “It’s been a year and a half that I am looking for a replacement for my library. But I am specialized in old books, and nobody wants it more.”
If this afternoon, a few customers throng still in the shop charming and typically parisian, Pierre Durieu is formal : “In the area, all the bookstores are closing one after the other anyway.” Then, it is decided. Soon, he will retire in the Midi and producing its own olive oil. And too bad “if it must sell to a butcher or a store of ready-to-wear.”
see also – Franck Boulinier, director of libraries Boulinier: “The Quartier Latin is no longer what it was”
