‘Pissing’? I don’t use such words. I said ‘Passing’ 
still having problems with your keyboard then 
I think my hands are faulty.
too much sitting on them on yer 'arris perhaps 
You’ll have to explain that one.
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DM’d 
And there are lots of them! Lots of bookshops in France (about 3,500 vs 1,000 in the UK) largely thanks to the prix unique policy (unfortunately scrapped in the UK in 1995), aka “La Loi Lang”,
The flamboyant Jack Lang being the only Culture minister who’s a household name in France (eg La Fête de la Musique, c’est lui !), along of course with André Malraux, De Gaulle’s Culture minister for 10 years in the 1960s, who created the Maisons de la Culture etc. and, very importantly, brought seminal legislation on Heritage, the Loi Malraux - which, inter alia, saved the beautiful Marais neighbourhood in Paris. If it hadn’t been for these preservation laws voted circa 1964, most of the Marais for instance would have been levelled. Of course, Malraux is also known for being a major writer, La Condition Humaine etc.).
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I had to laugh:
@graham : as a writer of some note
@UKfloatedaway : Who’s a writer of some notes?
I put myself in the latter category - a writer of some notes, rather than a writer of some note!
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haha and someone in another thread virtually accused me of being humourless…
Returning to the real thread…is there any evidence of how this “light” lockdown is being policed?..but books are one of the most important things in life.
I agree - we’ve had the same discussion on France’s support - via regulation - for pharmacies.
The UK - having gone further down the neo-liberal drain - ‘freed’ many markets - and in the process destroyed a lot of its quality of life, including many small (new) bookshops (secondhand ones survive - you of course Frédéric have the wonderful Barter Books!)
You’re right of course (about pharmacies - I should know, my wife is a pharmacist and has been one for over 25 yrs. It’s nothing short of shocking what’s gradually happened to independent pharmacies in the UK but probably not the right thread to have a rant!)
Sorry, can’t comment - I’m forbidden to talk about Northumberland on these boards! 
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On the subject of books. Before books vanish under the onslaught of pharmacies, followed by supermarkets, doctors and the price of lawnmowers. Where’s the best place to get discounted books apart from Abe, which varies between heavily discounted and shockingly steep?
I want to get my next lot of 100% FLE books but my budget is a few cents and a handful of rice thanks to the current situation. Abe charge high prices for the 100% FLE books.
…and music shops too are essential this time around
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Abe is Amazon
So you can go off topic then!
Prefer a double decker, but I’ve never gone off topic…
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SF has ALWAYS had a ‘you are free to go off topic’ approach. It is an intrinsic part of our dinner party ethos. There are plenty of sites which don’t do this so I can only advise members who strongly object to thread drift to use those sites instead.
Very occasionally this policy diverges as in the New Vaccine thread.
If any member wants to create a topic which is information only (as Graham has done)and request that this is adhered to (again as he did), I am happy to consider this.
I hope this clarifies things for you.
I
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I really, really want a Topic now!!!
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Speaking of which (second-hand bookshops), since you live in Brittany, when your new lockdown ends get yourself to the lovely medieval village of Bécherel if you’ve never been (border of Ille-et-Vilaine and Côtes-d’Armor), it’s a booklover’s paradise and the first in France to specialise in second-hand books (Hay-on-Wye and the Bouquinistes in Paris were the inspiration).
There are officially 8 book villages/towns in France (all gathered in the “Fédération des Villes, cités et villages du livre en France”) but Bécherel was the first one, probably the best one and is the only one in Western France (alongside Montmorillon in the Vienne département, if you go for a Grand Ouest definition).
[Une boulangerie, deux coiffeurs et dix-huit librairies pour un seul village : cherchez l’erreur ? Il n’y en a pas. La commune bretonne de Bécherel (Ille-et-Vilaine, 750 habitants) a été la première en France, en 1989, à se métamorphoser.
[…]
Des libraires de livres anciens et d’occasion, des professionnels des arts et des métiers du livre tels que relieurs, doreurs, graveurs, calligraphes, enlumineurs, fabricants de papier, imprimeries artisanales, éditeurs,se sont installés à demeure au sein de ces cités auxquelles ils apportent une nouvelle vie. Toute l’année, les évènements et activités culturelles rythment les saisons: salons et festivals du livre, expositions, rencontres d’auteurs, lectures, ateliers pédagogiques,forums, débats, ventes-signatures, théâtre, concerts…](https://Des libraires de livres anciens et d’occasion, des professionnels des arts et des métiers du livre tels que relieurs, doreurs, graveurs, calligraphes, enlumineurs, fabricants de papier, imprimeries artisanales, éditeurs,se sont installés à demeure au sein de ces cités auxquelles ils apportent une nouvelle vie. Toute l’année, les évènements et activités culturelles rythment les saisons: salons et festivals du livre, expositions, rencontres d’auteurs, lectures, ateliers pédagogiques,forums, débats, ventes-signatures, théâtre, concerts…)
[Northwest of Rennes, Bécherel is a must for French-speaking lovers of literature. This charming medieval town is France’s equivalent of Hay-on-Wye and has a year-long events calendar. When you’ve nosed around the bookshops, take a wander through its atmospheric streets.
Bécherel officially became a Book Town in 1989 when the first Fête du Livre was held; it is now an annual event, which takes place at Easter and is complemented by a series of events throughout the year including a reading festival in October. The town has around 15 bookshops, some with cafés, which specialise in every subject under the sun and range from rare first editions to contemporary fiction. A book market takes place in the town on the first Sunday of every month.](Bécherel | Brittany tourism)
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