French Booksellers Count at Least 24 Shops Hit in October 17-18 Unrest

At least 24 bookshops across France were affected by the urban violence on the margins of demonstrations on October 17 and 18, according to a first count by the Syndicat de la librairie française (SLF), the national booksellers' union. The French trade magazine Livres Hebdo reported the figure on October 23. Quotations and figures below are translated from the French.

The SLF opened an online questionnaire for bookshops hit by the violence. The union's page says the survey is meant to measure the damage and give it representative information for talks with the authorities and, where needed, with distributors. According to Livres Hebdo, 24 of the 160 shops that had answered so far reported being affected.

Where, and what kind of damage

The shops are mainly in large cities, Livres Hebdo reports, among them Nantes, Rennes, Montpellier, Paris, Caen, Grenoble, Nancy, Saint-Étienne, Le Havre, Nice, Lille, Metz, Marseille, and Toulouse. The SLF told the magazine that most of them had to close for several hours on Saturday, October 17, or longer. For a shop that stayed shut all day, lost sales reached 100 percent. Some also had material damage, mostly broken windows.

Earlier in the week, on October 19, Livres Hebdo described looting at the Momie Manga shop in Grenoble. Its manager, Patrick Courbet, told the magazine that the damage was "enormous," and that the attack lasted about 30 minutes and was caught on the shop's 13 cameras. In the same report, the SLF's general delegate, Guillaume Husson, said: "We must distinguish the demonstrators from the small groups and opportunistic looters. Urban violence cannot solve anything, and it is the opposite of the values bookshops stand for."

Paris

The association Paris Librairies ran its own survey of members in eight arrondissements. Of 67 shops contacted, 31 replied in detail: five reported damage or theft, eight reported effects on business or staff morale, and 18 reported nothing in particular.

La Belle Lurette, in the 4th arrondissement, was vandalized overnight on October 17 into 18, according to the report. Its door was damaged, a window broken, and items stolen, including manga, bags, a computer, and a scanner; the shop announced it was reopening on October 23. Comme Un Roman, in the 3rd, closed at 2:30 p.m. that Saturday and puts its lost takings at about 5,500 euros. Several other shops found graffiti on their fronts.

Support on offer

Livres Hebdo lists measures the government announced on October 20 for businesses hit by the violence. They include an exceptional, fully state-funded short-time working scheme; deferrals on social and tax payments; faster tax refunds; and a zero-interest loan from Bpifrance of up to 50,000 euros over three years. Insurers have extended the claims deadline to 30 days, the magazine says.

Why it matters for booksellers and publishers

The count is early, and the union is still collecting answers. For independent shops already working on thin margins, one lost Saturday and a broken window can matter a great deal, and the SLF says it will use the data with distributors as well as with the authorities. Paris Librairies says it plans to take members' accounts to a meeting with the prime minister.

Sources

• Livres Hebdo, October 23, 2026: A first tally of the October 17-18 violence for bookshops
• Livres Hebdo, October 19, 2026: Bookshops attacked and looted in several cities
• Syndicat de la librairie française: Survey of bookshops affected by the violence