“Culture must never be a privilege reserved for those who can afford it”underlines Yenad Mlaraha, new communications director for Fayard editions. When he took office at the start of the school year, the former advisor to Marlène Schiappa and Sarah El Haïry discovered a disconcerting reality: all publishers combined, more than 26,000 tons of Books are destroyed each year. Often burned. “I wondered how, in the 21st century, this could still exist”he continues. A taboo that publishing houses don't really like to approach, but which Yenad has seized.
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Because, if they are unsold, stocks that are often impossible to sell or slightly damaged books, nothing prevents them from having a second life. Especially if some people need it. “That’s when I thought about student precariousness, an increasingly worrying phenomenon”he explains again. In France, in fact, more than 50% of students are forced to regularly skip a meal to stay on course financially. It was then that Yenad Mlaraha contacted the Linkee association, specializing in food social assistance.
Each year, its volunteers distribute four million meal baskets to students living below the poverty line. And the survey they carried out last year confirms an alarming situation: three quarters of the students surveyed had less than a hundred euros of “remains to live” per month, or just over three euros per day. The average price of a book is between ten and twenty euros. Difficult to reach. And the idea is born. “Thanks to Linkee’s network and logistics, we imagined book distributions to students. A useful way to reduce this cultural waste. »
The first edition, organized on October 21 at the association's Parisian premises (in the 20th arrondissement), was a real success. “More than a thousand books were given to several hundred students”welcomes Yenad. The objective? Let this meeting become monthly. The November date has not yet been set but should be announced in the coming days. And the adventure will not only be in Paris since the association already has branches in Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Nantes and Toulouse.
Binding legislation
The only “snag” is the current legislation (from the Lang law of 1981) which very strongly regulates and constrains book donations. “A book still on sale, for example, cannot be distributed… even though it would be entirely possible”regrets Yenad. Its goal, if this test phase was conclusive, would therefore be to challenge the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati. He dreams of exceptions to the law for associations recognized as being of public utility, like Linkee. And, ultimately, he would like to bring the entire Hachette Livre group on board – of which Fayard is a part – so that this Solidarity Books project changes even further.
