Book sales in France fell from €2.8 billion in 2019 to €2.7 billion ($3.2 billion) in 2020, a drop of 2.3%, according to France's publishers association, the Syndicat National de l'Édition (SNE). The statistics were released during the association's annual meeting, held virtually. Graphic novel and manga sales were one bright spot, seeing a 29% spike.
Association president Vincent Montagne said, “The closures of bookstores for three-and-a-half months could have been a disaster for our sector, but the exceptional rebound of the summer and the end of 2020 testified to the unwavering support of the French for books and booksellers. It has enabled everyone to realize that books and reading are essential goods and constitute social issues. All of us, authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians, readers can rejoice at the president’s decision to make reading a great national cause in 2021.”
Some other news from France included the announcement of the purchase of Editions de Minuit by Gallimard and the return of the Paris Book Fair, which has been cancelled for the past two years and will return in 2022. The book fair will move to the city center and be held at the Gran Palais, April 22-24, and will have a more consumer-oriented focus than in previous years.
