Some streets, neighborhoods or districts have a reputation for being a home for booksellers — whether that’s Hay-on-Wye or NYC’s bygone Book Row. Bibliophiles who have visited Paris are likely well-acquainted with the city’s bouquinistes, the booksellers who’ve set up shop along the banks of the Seine, part of a tradition that extends back centuries.
You’d think that a large-scale event set to bring countless visitors to the City of Lights would be viewed as a benefit to the booksellers who’ve set up shop in one of Paris’s most enticing locations. Unfortunately, as an article in Smithsonian Magazine details, the 2024 Paris Olympics have created complications for the bouquinistes — specifically, the organizers’ plan to use the Seine for the opening ceremonies. As part of that plan, the booksellers would be temporarily relocated elsewhere. Smithsonian reports that the city would cover the moving costs, but it’s left some booksellers concerned that this nominally temporary change could be the end of an era.
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