The disappointments of the new booksellers on the banks of the Seine
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REPORTAGE – Some have put their boxes in May, others are in no hurry. The eighteen new booksellers are making their mark on the banks of Paris. And it’s not easy every day.
Eric de Tarragon is impatiently waiting for a lull. stormy weather mid-August does not help. He must absolutely go to the docks to paint the inside of his boxes. Newcomer to the 2022 vintage of Parisian booksellers, the sixty-year-old painter explains that he has “installed his boxes only on Sunday.”
In the spring, eighteen booksellers were chosen to fill the vacant spaces on the quays of the Seine. “It’s much more than usual, usually only two or three are appointed each year“, Explain Tai Luc. For five years he has been selling books on Asia, among other subjects, at n°2 on the quai de Gesvres. When he is not there, the former singer of the punk rock group La Souris déglinguée plays the guitar and gives language lessons at Inalco.
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The new souls of Paris perpetuate a tradition nearly 450 years old. On both banks of the river, from the Marie bridge to the Louvre, via the quai Voltaire and the apse of Our Lady, Parisians are looking for the rare and inexpensive pearl; tourists, a souvenir of their trip. The social and health crises have not dampened the enthusiasm of these irreducible writers.
The tastes and personalities of each forge the character of the huge open-air bookstore. Eric de Tarragon chose contemporary art. The one who scoured the FIAC in the 1990s with the Lucien Durand gallery says: “I stopped painting for eight years to become a bookseller.” First in the 15e district of Paris at the Brassens market, the largest in Europe, “then a bookseller friend pushed me to submit my application and take up a space on the quays.” This one is not very touristic, close to the Marais district so he felt the need to specialize. “But I’m not going to sell books on Picasso or the Impressionists, I’m going to prioritize avant-gardism and offer my paintings”, strikes the painter. He seems optimistic.
Difficult beginnings
Laurent Quénéhen is a little less so. This former curator and art critic has settled at 8, quai de Gesvres, not far from Tai-Luc. Before applying he was a “can opener”, a kind of substitute in the world of booksellers. “A lady sold her boxes and gave up her location. I took the opportunity”, he explains. At the beginning of August it opened for ten days. And the results are mixed. “I make 5 to 10 euros a day and in addition they stole my pack of cigarettes”, laments Laurent on the phone. So on August 16, he didn’t go to the docks. “I don’t know if I will stay long”regrets the bookseller scalded by these few days.
The beginnings are difficult for these newcomers who surely imagined a bohemian life. “You have to be resourceful and you quickly become aware of the job”, explains Julian. At 37, the bookseller is also a tourist guide. “At the beginning, nobody helps us, we have to find boxes, transport them and install them, make a stock of books”, he recalls. If Julien has not yet made his clientele, he sometimes recognizes a few people. “Since July 14 it’s been calm, Parisians are on vacation, he explains, but it’s funny to be part of the landscape.
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