Culture in boxes

He has been here for two years to supplement his pension. On offer: a hodgepodge of old magazines, used books, prints and historical postcards, but also tourist tinnef such as refrigerator magnets and key rings. "It has to be so that it's even worth a bit," he says. “Most of the customers who come here don't speak French, so what are they supposed to do with French books? But a lot of people want selfies with me.” With a beret, mustache and pipe, he looks exactly how an American or Asian imagines a typical Frenchman. His deal is: A selfie is only available against the purchase of at least one Paris souvenir. Actually, he grins, he became a photo model.

He humorously expresses the misery in which the five-century-old tradition of Parisian open-air traders has found itself since the internet and mass tourism. Michel is one of around 230 bouquinists running the 900 historic stalls along the banks of the Seine between the Town Hall Quay, the Ile de la Cité and Saint Michel. In the 1960s and 1970s, his father did good business, especially with the students, who could buy cheap used books here. Today they can find what they need online and no longer have to look for bouquinists. This year, Michel hopes to be assigned a stand on the more profitable Rive Gauche bank near Saint Michel. Beginners like him are first sent through the so-called purgatory, the nickname among bouquinists for the right bank.

Both banks of the Seine have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1991 - and with them the Bouquinists. The Paris City Hall protects the profession by providing the stands free of charge and tax-free, albeit under strict conditions: compliance with the sales area calculated to the centimeter, the offer must mostly be printed matter and not souvenirs, and the stands must be open at least four days a week have.