\n \u201cIt\u2019s my life, it\u2019s not just a job,\u201d 76-year-old Sylvia Brui, who\u2019s been selling ancient books for eight years on Quai de Conti, told CNN. \u201cWe sell things that we love.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n The history of Paris\u2019 world-famous book merchants dates back to 1550, when a dozen street vendors set up shop on the \u00cele de la Cit\u00e9, in the heart of the French capital. The trade took off with the construction of the Pont Neuf in 1606, the first bridge without buildings atop, offering a vast space for new vendors of portable wares.\n <\/p>\n
\n By the early 1900s, the city standardized the iconic look of the stalls: sellers worked out of metal boxes painted the same \u201cwagon green\u201d color, and their open lids were designed to preserve the riverbank views. Today, around 230 booksellers stretch along roughly three kilometers of the Seine, offering antique and contemporary books, engravings, stamps and magazines.\n <\/p>\n
\n It\u2019s a unique setting to appreciate the written word: a skyline of historic stone buildings frames this open-air bookshop.\n <\/p>\n
![\"J\u00e9r\u00f4me](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ap23237453466448.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Booksellers pay no tax or rent but must comply with strict regulations. Vacant spots are allocated and regulated by the City of Paris through a dedicated committee. Candidates must apply with a resume and a cover letter explaining their plans.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cYou must show your commitment to books,\u201d J\u00e9r\u00f4me Callais, president of the Association Culturelle des Bouquinistes de Paris, told CNN. Twelve new booksellers were appointed in October 2025.\n <\/p>\n
\n Each occupancy permit is granted for five years. Booksellers must open their stalls at least four days a week, except in bad weather. They are allowed to sell old books, second-hand books, old papers and engravings. They may add a small selection of other items \u2013 like coins, medals, old stamps and postcards \u2013 as long as they do not exceed the contents of a single box.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cYou need to have experience, to be knowledgeable,\u201d Callais said, \u201cIt\u2019s not surprising that the majority of booksellers are over 50, about 80% of them.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Among that older cohort is new bouquiniste Ozan Yigitkeskin, who plans to offer a selection of multilingual books. He decided to set up shop on the quays at the age of 52 after working as an online book seller. \u201cMy first job was selling books by bicycle in Istanbul at the age of 15. I\u2019ve also been a typist and a journalist, and I\u2019m still passionate about books.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Yigitkeskin knows how fragile small bookshops can be, constantly struggling to cover their rent \u2013 a problem he boasts he won\u2019t have as a bouquiniste.\n <\/p>\n
\n Six years ago, 35-year-old Camille Goudeau opened her own stall specializing in science fiction and fantasy on Quai de l\u2019H\u00f4tel de Ville, after spending years working for other booksellers.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI deal in inexpensive second-hand books to encourage people who don\u2019t read, or read very little, or have stopped reading, to read again,\u201d she told CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI had a 30-year-old woman like that, she didn\u2019t dare go into a bookstore,\u201d fellow bookseller Sylvia Brui chipped in. \u201cShe bought her first book here: \u2018The Old Man and the Sea.\u2019 Later, she read Joyce. Now she goes to bookstores.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Polling from IPSOS\/CNL suggests French readers have been buying more second-hand books over the past decade, with those aged 25 to 34 reading the most books per year on average.\n <\/p>\n
Working outdoors: freedom and human connection<\/p>\n
![\"Today,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/gettyimages-1294334316.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Booksellers work outdoors all year round, often with nothing more than a folding chair for comfort and a tiny table serving as both desk and counter. Why choose this life over the comfort of working in a shop?\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI don\u2019t like being stuck indoors, and I find it hard to work for someone else; being a bookseller allows me to be completely independent,\u201d bouquiniste Camille Goudeau explained to CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very direct way of connecting with people,\u201d Goudeau added. The stalls are \u201ca refuge for some people for whom it\u2019s their daily walk, their only daily interaction.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Such moments of human connection make all the difference, said Claire Leriche, a bookseller for 15 years. \u201cWhen people buy three postcards and I show them the stamp, explaining it was sent in 1904, they are happy because there is a little story that goes with it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Laura Contreras, 26, a literature student researching Simone de Beauvoir\u2019s letters, comes to the quays often, mostly to buy philosophical works and essays. \u201cThere\u2019s historic value; each item has its own story,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Marie-Samuelle Klein, 23, also comes regularly. \u201cI love it because you always find gems,\u201d she said. \u201cI like books when they\u2019re old, their smell. There\u2019s something symbolic about it, knowing that many people have read it before me.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
![\"Each](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/gettyimages-1294332944.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"They](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/gettyimages-1645162619.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Confronted by change \u2013 whether it be e-books or online booksellers \u2013 the bouquinistes are determined to survive.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s up to us to make people come,\u201d said J\u00e9r\u00f4me Callais, \u201cHere there is eye-to-eye communication between human beings. We provide an oasis of humanity and culture.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n The most recent threat came from unexpected quarters: the 2024 Paris Olympics.\n <\/p>\n
\n The bouquinistes had to fight displacement before the Games\u2019 spectacular opening ceremony was held along the Seine. A public outcry helped them maintain their toehold on central Paris.\n <\/p>\n
\n Every year, people say, \u201cOh my God, it\u2019s terrible, the booksellers are dying out,\u201d Camille Goudeau recounted from the banks of the Seine, \u201cbut in fact, we\u2019re still here, and I hope we\u2019ll be here for a long time to come.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paris \u00a0\u2014\u00a0 Flexible hours, being your own boss, fresh air and views of Notre Dame \u2013 it\u2019s a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":472323,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[50,103],"class_list":{"0":"post-472322","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115784650293367280","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}