Spotlight on France
Paris's Seine-side booksellers call Unesco to the rescue
Issued on:
Play - 10:00
Some 220 bouquinistes sell second-hand and rare books along the banks of the River Seine in Paris in what has been called the largest open-air bookshop in the world. But as the internet and changing habits eat into book sales, a growing number of these booksellers are turning to the sale of tourist souvenirs and away from reading material. In a bid to preserve the four-century-old traditions of the trade, a group of bouquinistes has launched a campaign to get them onto Unesco's intangible cultural heritage list.