In a pop-up bookstore in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique), February 1, 2024 (AFP/Archives/LOIC VENANCE)
The professional organization of publishers called on the government on Wednesday to ban television advertising for books, but the Ministry of Culture told AFP it firmly believed in its benefits.
Taking a position on a decree of April 5 which authorizes this advertising on an experimental basis for two years, the National Publishing Union (SNE) published a press release to request “its repeal”.
This decree “worries publishing professionals who fear a weakening of the sector and an impoverishment of literary creation” in favor of bestsellers, for which large publishers have the means to pay for advertisements, he reported. .
The Ministry of Culture opened a public consultation on this measure in January and February, the results of which have not been made public. Then the decree was published in the Official Journal in a way which, according to Madrigall group boss Antoine Gallimard, “surprised” the entire sector.
The SNE indicated that it had “declared itself unfavorable” during this consultation, in order not to “unbalance a book sector which is valued for its great diversity”.
– “No unanimity” –
But, according to the Ministry of Culture, the employers’ organization did not respond within the deadline. “They couldn’t, because they didn’t have unanimity on the subject. After multiple reminders, they sent us a brief message, out of time,” a source within this group told AFP. ministry.
“We do not believe that the publishers were surprised. We warned them at the end of the consultation that we were going to authorize this advertising,” added this source.
The government plans to carry out the experiment until the end of two years. “The objective is not at all to give gifts to television stations, as we have read, but to broaden the readership, by promoting the book on other channels. These television stations understand well that it “is a public policy,” the ministry stressed.
Minister Rachida Dati defended her measure on April 12, estimating that readers could “cross the threshold of a bookstore (…) to buy a bestseller and leave with three other books under their arm”.
Only one publishing house has broadcast a television spot since: XO editions, on BFMTV. They claim to have “never stopped campaigning” for this form of advertising.
– Booksellers “firmly opposed” –
The booksellers’ organization, the French Library Union, holds the same position as the publishers. “With the entire sector, we have always been firmly opposed to television advertising for books. And we reaffirmed this during the public consultation,” explained its general delegate, Guillaume Husson, to AFP on Monday.
The Ministry of Culture responded that it wanted to allay these fears. “The measure does not take anything away from independent bookstores, on the contrary, since it aims to expand the number of readers,” said the source.
A federation of organizations representing authors, the Permanent Council of Writers (CPE), and another organization which brings together around 400 publishers, the Federation of Independent Editions (Fedei), also published a joint statement on Wednesday against advertising in the television.
Despite the consensus of the book industry, the Ministry of Culture says it is convinced of the merits of this novelty.
“French people who do not see posters promoting books in the metro or in the streets of Paris and who do not read the media aimed at CSP+ will see more books on television. The sole aim of this measure, it’s cultural diversity,” according to the source who spoke to AFP.
© 2024 AFP
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