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Spotlight on France

Paris's Seine-side booksellers call Unesco to the rescue

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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.

Bouquinistes sell their wares on both banks of the Seine out of traditional bottle green wooden boxes
Bouquinistes sell their wares on both banks of the Seine out of traditional bottle green wooden boxes gettyimages/ :DEA / M. NASCIMENTO
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