European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 6, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse This bookseller reads the paper in Between dealing with customers at her stall near notre bout Mustes a amps Feitor Jaeger regulations hit legendary Book vendors along Seine by Christopher Burns the associated press they be adorned the Edge of the Seine for hundreds of years Selling old books magazines and graphics out of rickety Green stalls in the Shadow of notre Dame Cathedral. Now Tough new City regulations Are causing a rift among the 250 Bouquin stes named after the tattered collectors tomes they sell. Some say they will be driven out of business by the new rules forcing them to get More commercial or get out. The conservative mayor sex Premier and aspiring president Jacques Chirac wants them to Register As businesses pay France s onerous social Security tax a and stay open at least four Days a week. If they Don t comply in two years they la have to pack up and leave. Like farming filmmaking and other protected sectors the Bouquin stes Are a part of a Quot Douce France Quot facing free Market pressures in a country that seeks to remain a leading world Economy. Quot everyone says we re a Golden Slipper of Paris like the Eiffel Tower. On the one hand they say that and then they threaten us Quot said Fabrice Pignatel 24, who runs a Bookstall with his Girlfriend. Having to Register As a business Quot could Force us out a said the Pony tailed Vendor Cheeks reddened by the cold. To stay warm he rubbed his hands and kept Busy arranging his novels pictures comics and soft Core pornography. Quot Well have to open More often and make a better stall Quot he said. The Call for More aggressive merchants is a far cry from the Days when Napoleon was said to Grant Bookstall to War veterans and soldiers widows. Enesco a the . Educational scientific and cultural organization a last year added the Bouquin stes stretch along the Seine to its list of More than 370 protected world heritage Sites. Quot the idea is to refresh a set of regulations that Are 100 years old Quot said Jean Tiberi Chirac s chief aide defending the new rules signed by the mayor in october. Quot we wanted to protect the Trade not hamper it but to give it More most Bouquin stes interviewed were supportive of the four Day a week requirement. Quot some quays Are dead deserted during the week. We want to make the quays live again Quot said Veronique be Goff 35, a fourth generation Bouquin Ste who is president of the Small Bouquin stes Union. Those threatened by the new rules Are people Quot who alerted the press Quot she said referring to heavy coverage in the French Media. Quot they want to work without being declared. They Don t want to pay taxes Quot said be Goff whose year old Union represents about 20 colleagues. A be Goff said she pays about $2,500 a year in social Security retirement and other employment taxes or about 30 percent of her income from the stalls. Officials and vendors say there Are dozens of people clamouring for the coveted stalls if anybody leaves. Quot we need to open up the Market Quot said an elderly Vendor in Green eyeliner fur boots and a floppy Black hat. Quot there Are Many others that Are waiting people who Are unemployed Quot said the woman who would Only identify herself As Madame Chaput. The new rules Quot Don t bother me. I m Here seven Days a week and i be been Here for 40 years Quot said Roland Iudici 73. Quot i pay my . City officials declined to estimate How Many Bouquin stes Are not registered. Giudici estimated them at about 10 percent of the 250. Whatever the rules most Bouquin stes Are Bent on staying. They complain More about the chronic rain and cold Winters and they put up with that too. After All it s More than a Job. Quot i love books. I love the atmosphere Quot said Jean Pierre who would t give his last name. Quot it s True there s a certain january 6, 1994 stripes Magazine 7 7
