The second-hand booksellers whose iconic green boxes line the Left Bank of the Seine have asked France to ask their business to be declared a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The move is being pushed by Jérôme Callais, president of the cultural association of the “bouquinistes” of Paris, and a Seine-side bookseller for 27 years. He has support from the Mayor of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, Jean-Pierre Lecoq.
The 120 booksellers are allotted four boxes each, three of which must be devoted to books, prints and magazines. The other can be stocked with souvenirs and trinkets. Callais hopes that a UNESCO designation would help halt the ‘cheating’ by which some bouquinistes are filling up on more trinkets and fewer books.
Aside from sales to passers-by, the riverside bouquinistes are an important source of older academic journals and books. Getting heritage status often takes several years; each country can apply only once every two years; to get on, the bouquinistes must be added to France’s requests by the Minister of Culture.
Photo: Sofirou/Wikimedia
