Posted on Feb. 2021 at 13:26
It is an institution in Strasbourg which will disappear on February 27th. Like its neighbor Wolf, the oldest music store in France, forced to close its doors last year, the Broglie bookstore has also decided to lower the curtain.
Store managers for twenty years, Patrick Bagyoni and his wife Françoise Bagyoni fought to maintain the store’s activity in a particularly difficult context. But the handicaps accumulated, pushing them to throw in the towel. And Patrick Bagyoni to cite the Bataclan attacks, responsible for the “bunkerization” of the center during the month of December, the desertification of the city center, the rise in rents and the rise of Amazon, which makes it possible to buy books online.
The bookstore was also severely affected by the government’s decision to provide the textbooks digitally. The health crisis and the two confinements pushed them to end their activity.
Avoid filing for bankruptcy
Patrick and Françoise Bagyoni wanted to avoid filing for bankruptcy. Failing to find a buyer, they contacted the city and the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg to request the cessation of activities and are going to retire. By then, the liquidation of the stock of stationery items has been organized. On the other hand, the books will be returned to the publisher, since the Lang law imposes a single price and de facto prohibits selling them.
Compensation will be paid in full to the 7 employees of the bookstore, all the suppliers will be paid and the loan guaranteed by the State (PGE) taken out during the health crisis will be reimbursed from April, assures Patrick Bagyoni.
First a printing press, then a bookshop, Broglie has been part of Strasbourg’s history since 1918. First known as Berger-Levrault, then as Muller, it became the Broglie bookstore, named after the place eponymous on which it is installed, in January 2001. Its disappearance will leave a great void for the people of Strasbourg.
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