Paris Olympics: Seine booksellers furious over order to move
July 29, 2023
A symbol of Paris for centuries, "bouquinistes" along the Seine have been told their stands pose a security threat and will have to be removed for next year’s Olympic games.
With kilometers of books along both its banks, the Seine is 'the only river in the world that runs between two bookshelves'Image: Abdullah Firas/ABACA/IMAGO
Advertisement
Open-air booksellers along the banks of the Seine reacted angrily to local authorities informing them they pose a security threat for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and that their stands will have to be removed for the sporting spectacle.
The main thrust of the threat, according to police, pertains to the games' July 26 opening ceremonies, which for the first time will be staged outside a stadium.
Some 600,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony and police informed booksellers in a letter that those inside a so-called perimeter of protection would have to be removed for "obvious security reasons."
The French government says it will deploy 35,000 police and military for the public ceremony.
Some 570 of the famous stalls — roughly 60% — will be affected.
‘We've been here for 450 years!' says president of booksellers' association
"People come to see us like they come to see the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, [but] they want to hide us during a ceremony that is supposed to represent Paris," said Jerome Callais, president of the Paris booksellers' association.
Callais said most booksellers had, "no intention of moving," exclaiming: "We're a symbol of Paris. We've been here for 450 years."
With a total length of three kilometers (1.86 miles), booksellers' green wooden boxes comprise Europe's largest open-air book market, with second-hand book and art booths extending from Pont Marie to Quai du Louvre on the Right Bank, and from Quai de la Tournelle to Quai Voltaire on the Left Bank.
Booksellers say they are as much a part of Paris as the Eiffel Tower or Notre DameImage: Abdullah Firas/ABACA/IMAGO
City authorities say they will pay to have the booths, which are affixed to railings along the river, removed and later reinstalled, as well as covering the cost of "renovation" for any damage that may occur during that process.
Advertisement
Booksellers say historic stalls are too fragile to move
The banks where the stalls are installed were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991, and the booksellers are seeking "intangible cultural heritage" status, something city authorities say would be aided by the renovations being offered.
Still, booksellers are unhappy as they worry their stalls may be damaged.
"They are very fragile… our stalls will not be able to withstand this operation, nor will the morale of the booksellers," said Albert Abid, who has been selling books out of a 100-year-old stall for more than 10 years.
Association President Callais agrees, and estimates the total cost of such renovations would cost roughly €1.5 milion ($1.66 million).
He also scoffed at the city's plan to offer set up shop at an alternative venue in a "literary neighborhood near the Siene for the duration of the games," saying of the proposed site for a "bookseller village" at Place de la Bastille — "no one is going to go to that market."
Olympic host cities Paris and Los Angeles
It's official! Paris will host the 2024 Olympic Games, while Los Angeles will get its turn four years later. This is the first time the IOC has simultaneously awarded the rights to host two consecutive games.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Kovarik
And the Games go to ... the only cities that wanted them
The IOC has tried very hard to sell its simultaneous awarding of two summer Olympics - the first such twin-announcement in a century - as a PR coup. But it's hard to ignore that the move was mainly damage limitation. As so many cities like Hamburg rejected Olympic bids, and only Paris and LA remained in the 2024 hat, why not spare further embarrassment and give them one each?
Image: picture-alliance /dpa/AP/M. Mejia
No longer just a candidate
One hundred years after it first hosted the Olympic Games, Paris is to welcome the world's best athletes back to the French capital in 2024. Four other cities; Hamburg, Budapest, Rome and Los Angeles also launched bids to host the 2024 Games, but three of them pulled out after the idea proved unpopular with the locals. Under an IOC-brokered deal, Los Angeles has been awarded the 2028 Olympics.
Hosting the Olympics is nothing new for Paris, although it has been a while. The French capital, home of the father of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, last hosted the Summer Games in 1924, having first done so in 1900. More recent bids to bring the Olympics back to Paris failed, with Barcelona, Beijing and London winning the rights to host the 1992, 2008 and 2012 Games.
Image: picture-alliance/akg-images
Powerful backer
Shortly after he was elected as France's president back in May, Emmanuel Macron (right) got to work promoting Paris' Olympic bid. Apparently Patrick Baumann, the chairman of the International Olympic Committee's evaluation commission (left), was duly impressed.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Euler
Environmentally friendly
One of the aspects of the Paris bid that impressed the IOC was the fact that all of the venues are to be located within walking distance of one another. Not only that, but the organizers set out to ensure that these Games would be as environmentally friendly as possible. Another advantage is the the low estimated cost of hosting the Olympics, €6.3 billion ($7.5 billion).
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. C. Bott
Existing venues
A strong contributing factor to making the 2024 Paris Olympics environmentally friendly and cost-effective was the fact that 95 percent of the venues already exist. Only the aquatics arena will need to be newly constructed. Many previous hosts have had to build virtually all of the venues for the Olympics, and some were driven to the verge of bankruptcy as a result.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Lecoeur
Security a key concern
More than half of the €6.3 billion is to come from private investment, and around a third of this is to be spent on security. Almost two years after the Paris terror attacks that claimed 130 lives, security remains a key concern, just as it was when France hosted the 2016 European football championship.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/E. Laurent
'Paris 2024. Made for sharing'
The organizers of the successful Paris bid have said that they are determined to restore the credibility of the Olympic Games amid a growing corruption scandal. Paris bid co-chairman Tony Estanguet has said that they aim to "promote the best values of the Olympics" for the benefit of France and its population. The bid's motto: "Paris 2024. Made for Sharing."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Fife
A 'great capital of the Olympic movement'
Shortly after the IOC brokered the deal that will see Paris host the 2024 Olympics and Los Angeles the 2028 Games, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti made the announcement at the city's StubHub Center. He described LA as "one of the great capitals of the Olympic movement." The slogan for 2028: "Follow the Sun."
Image: Getty Images/K. Djansezian
Historic stadium
The Memorial Coliseum was the main venue for both the 1932 and 1984 Games in Los Angeles - and is to be uses again when the Olympics return to the city of angels in 2028. Los Angeles is set to become just the second city to host a third Olympics – after London, which hosted the 1908 and 2012 Summer Games. It is the permanent home of the USC Trojans and the temporary home of the Los Angeles Rams.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/V.Klemetti
Student housing
As is the case with Paris, the vast majority of the venues and other facilities required for Los Angeles to host the Games (97 percent) already exist. The student housing at the University of California is to be renovated shortly before the Games and serve as the Olympic village, where the athletes are to be accommodated.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/F. Duenzl
Popular support
What sets Los Angeles apart from cities like Hamburg, Budapest and Boston, each of which withdrew their initial bids, is that the local population actually seem to support hosting the Olympics. An initial survey conducted by Loyola Marymount University found that 88 percent of LA residents asked, supported the 2024 bid. A follow-up poll found that 83 percent supported hosting the 2028 Games.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Fallon
Attractive location
Its mild climate, sunshine, hills and the Pacific Ocean make Los Angeles an attractive location to hold the Olympics. Just as Rio de Janeiro used its geographic location to its advantage, Los Angeles will have the opportunity to do the same, holding the beach volleyball tournaments right on the Pacific Coast in Santa Monica.
