Olympics threaten to erase a symbol of Paris, say riverside booksellers
By Ardee NAPOLITANO and Clotaire Achi
PARIS (Reuters) — Booksellers along the river Seine say the Olympics threaten to erase a symbol of Paris, after they were told by local authorities that they will have to remove their stalls for the Summer Games opening ceremony in 2024 for security reasons.
Around 570 of the famous old stalls that line the river in the capital need to be dismantled and moved, or almost 60% of the riverside booksellers, according to the city authorities.
«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, the president of the Paris booksellers association.
Paris police have told the booksellers their stalls are within the perimeter of protection for the opening ceremony and need to be removed for «obvious security reasons,» the police said in a statement.
Paris 2024 organisers expect at least 600,000 people to attend the opening ceremony on the Seine, during which athletes and delegations will sail along the river. It will be the first time the public have free access to the opening ceremony, and not in a stadium.
The French government is making plans to ensure the security of the event, for which 35,000 security agents and the military will be deployed.
But Albert Abid feels that he and his fellow booksellers are being excluded from the celebrations, and says he is worried that his 100-year old wooden stall will be damaged in the process.
"(They) are very fragile… our stalls will not be able to withstand this operation, nor will the morale of the booksellers," said the seller of 10 years in front of his riverside stall holding around 100-150 books.
The Paris authorities
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