An unexpected effect of the health crisis? According to a study of the National Book Center (CNL) published Tuesday, March 30, reading fell in France in 2020. Fourteen percent of French people have not read any books last year, up 2 points compared to 2018, the date of last survey, and 25% did not buy a new one.
“Despite reassuring market dynamics for the book sector, we are seeing an overall decline in the number of readers”, underlined, in a press release, the president of the public establishment, Régine Hatchondo.
The study is carried out every two years by the Ipsos institute and its results published before the opening of the Livre Paris fair, canceled for the second year in a row due to the Covid-19 epidemic. Launched in January among 1,000 people aged 15 and over, the survey reveals that 86% of French people have read at least one book in 2020, or 8 points less than in 2018. “The French probably wanted to understand the world better and to decipher the crisis we went through: they read more books of reports and current affairs (essays, biographies …), but fewer novels (- 7 points) and practical books (- 7 points) “, notes the CNL.
Fewer new books purchased
They are 75% (- 7 points) to have bought at least one new book, 34% (- 7 points) to have bought second-hand and 68% (- 9 points) to have been lent or offered. Likewise, 83% of respondents have read at least one printed book. Only 3% of respondents read exclusively digitally. The bookstore remains the preferred point of sale (80% of buyers), ahead of specialized supermarkets (67%), the Internet (39%) and supermarkets and hypermarkets (39%).
The French are not losing interest in the book, however, and would like to read more. They are 51% to cite as a brake the ” lack of time “ and 37% the “Competition from other leisure activities”. “If they had an extra day in the week to devote to their leisure time, reading would be the second most popular activity after going out with friends”, noted Mme Hatchondo.