2023-10-11 17:55:00
On October 6, in Bergerac, three police officers showed up armed at “La Colline aux Livres” to demand the deletion of a Facebook post from the booksellers. They dared to complain about the work that has been taking place in front of their business for 18 months… and publish a photo in which they portrayed themselves!
The Halle de Bergerac construction site is accumulating delays. Loss of turnover, bankruptcies, closures of establishments… surrounding businesses are crumbling. As reported News, for the managers of “La Colline aux Livres”, it is a loss of €80,000 in turnover. The City (LR) had warned that there would be no compensation, but the bad news kept coming: the 2023 Christmas holidays were threatened, and the town hall indicated that the last part of the work would require a blockage during about thirty days of access.
Baptiste and Caroline, who took over the store in 2018, decided to react on Facebook:
“We have known the difficulties of coming to see us for more than a year and a half. You have no idea how difficult this period is morally and financially. Without any help, this is the price of our independence. So the bookstore is still open! This is the price of our commitment.”
The post garnered a few hundred likes and many supportive reactions. As a thank you, the two booksellers added a positive note by publishing a photo of themselves clowning around on a construction machine.
The photo incriminated by the Bergerac town hall – Photo credits: La Colline aux livres
Neither one nor two, the city councilor sent three police officers on site to demand the deletion of the photo, for “Incitement to the degradation of public property”. The problem is that the photo was taken with the agreement of the site workers, who have had time to make friends with the local traders for a year and a half. What’s more, the elevator on which the booksellers took their photo – which is fine, does not belong to the town hall, but to a private company.
Rather than sending three armed police officers to negotiate the deletion of an innocent photo, the booksellers would certainly have preferred that the mayor come in person…
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