Jordan Bardella's book, “What I'm looking for”, is a hit on illegal download platforms

It is an undeniable editorial success: after selling 23,000 copies in the first week following its release (November 9, 2024), What I'm looking forthe book by Jordan Bardella, reached 36,600 sales the following week… and exceeded those of the 2024 Goncourt Prize in week 46 (November 11 to 17, 2024), reports ActuaLitté.

It is all the more remarkable that Hourisby Kamel Daoud, is enjoying quite a buzz driven by the controversies surrounding his novel (accused of being inspired by the personal story of an Algerian woman, who claims to have been robbed).

Mechanical effect

And what happens in bookstores “resonates” mechanically on illegal download sites: referring to the pirate platform most consulted for its French-speaking titles, ActuaLitté notes that the enthusiasm around Bardella's book also concerns its users.

The site has in fact noted more than 85,000 consultations of the information sheet. What I'm looking forpotentially corresponding to as many pirate downloads of the book! And assuming that only 50% of users complete their process, there are almost twice as many pirated copies as those sold.

Our “Literature” file

Knowing that the book is sold for 22.90 euros in bookstores, this represents a potential loss of almost a million euros for Fayard, Jordan Bardella's publishing house. And almost 145,000 euros for the latter if we consider that copyright rates, in general literature, generally amount to 10 to 15%.