Bouquinistes of Paris Seek UNESCO Recognition

 

Bouquinistes is the French word to call sellers¹ of old books along the Seine River in Paris. The tradition has existed for over 400 years. However, modern technology like electronic book readers and sellers of books online are now hurting their profits and threatening their existence.

To save the trade, the bouquinistes are now trying to be added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage² list. The list recognizes and protects traditions and living expressions passed on from family members.

David Nosek is one such bouquiniste. He is busy reading a book and rarely looks at the tourists walking by. A few stop to examine old books and artworks on his green metal stand.

"I like to read, I like old things, and there's an independence to the business," he said. "We certainly don't get into it to get rich."

Sophie Leleu supports the effort to be added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. She thought it would be a good way to maintain³ the quality of the trade.

"If we're on the UNESCO list, we become like the Egyptian pyramids, or the Venetian gondoliers — nobody can remove us,” she added.

First, the bouquinistes need to make France's own intangible heritage list and the difficult process can take several years. France can only support one candidacy⁴ every two years for the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage bid. So far, UNESCO has only accepted 15 out of 400 that made the French list.

But not everyone, including some bouquinistes, supports this idea. Some fear they will no longer be able to sell the souvenirs that help them survive.

Francis Robert has been selling old comic books for 40 years. He said intangible cultural heritage status might seem like a good idea. But the money from souvenirs like key chains, and small Eiffel Tower statues, has allowed him to continue selling books.

Meghan Patton, a visitor from Philadelphia, said with the bouquinistes "you get the feel of Paris… They're part of what makes the city so special.

However, some travelers are not as interested in the bouquinistes.

Colorado author Mike McPhee, who has visited Paris many times, said he would not trust their books to be real, and would rather buy from a trusted dealer⁵.

Bigger challenges

Florence Berthout is mayor⁶ of Paris' 5th district. She said, "There's an urgency⁷ to defend the bouquinistes' trade.”

The district is in the center of the Latin⁸ Quarter, home to the Sorbonne, one of the world's first universities. Its town hall faces the Pantheon, where some of France's greatest writers and academics are buried. The area is also home to the majority of Parisian bookstores, publishing houses, and most of the city's bouquinistes.

"There's nothing more democratic⁹ than books," said Berthout. She is the daughter of farmers from central France, and discovered famous writers like Shakespeare and Emile Zola thanks to low-cost books her parents bought.

Berthout says that UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Status would give bouquinistes more recognition¹⁰, and hopefully increase their sales. This would allow them to continue selling old books and not cheap souvenirs.

But few people believe the bouquinistes will completely disappear from Paris. There are more than 200 today, compared to less than 30 in the 17th century.

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

academic - n. a person who is a teacher in a college or university?

cheap - adj. not costing a lot of money?

comic - n. the part of a newspaper that has comic strips¹¹?

district - n. an area established by a government for official government business?

tourist - n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure?

souvenir - n. something that is kept as a reminder¹² of a place you have visited, an event you have been to, etc.

1 sellers   

n.卖者( seller的名词复数 )；卖方；销售者；销售商

参考例句：

• buyers and sellers transacting business 进行交易的买方和卖方
• All manner of hawkers and street sellers were plying their trade. 形形色色的沿街小贩都在做着自己的买卖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

3 maintain   

vt.支撑；赡养，抚养；维持，保有

参考例句：

• He has to maintain a large family on a small salary.他不得不依靠很少的工资养活一家人。
• We must do our best to maintain sales at their usual rate.我们要尽力使销售额保持在平日的水平上。

4 candidacy   

n.候选人资格；候选人的地位

参考例句：

• The reporters trapped the official into declaring his candidacy. 记者们设下圈套，巧妙地使那位官员公布了自己是候选人。 来自辞典例句
• "We got the word that Jack Woltz won't spend studio money to support your candidacy. “我们得到消息说，杰克 - 乌尔茨不愿意拿制片厂的钱来支持你为得奖候选人。 来自教父部分

5 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

6 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

7 urgency   

n.紧急，迫切

参考例句：

• In case of urgency,call the police.一旦发生紧急情况，打电话给警察。
• This is a matter of great urgency.这是一件十分紧急的事情。

8 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

9 democratic   

adj.民主的；民主主义的，有民主精神的

参考例句：

• Their country has democratic government.他们国家实行民主政体。
• He has a democratic work-style.他作风民主。

10 recognition   

n.承认，认可，认出，认识

参考例句：

• The place has changed beyond recognition.这地方变得认不出来了。
• A sudden smile of recognition flashed across his face.他脸上掠过一丝笑意，表示认识对方。

11 strips   

n. 条，片 名词strip的复数形式

参考例句：

• Cut the vegetables into thin strips. 把菜切成细条。
• The baskets are woven from strips of willow. 这些篮子是用柳条编的。

12 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。