The 40th anniversary of the Montreuil Youth Book and Press Fair (SLPJ) was eventful this Wednesday, November 27, with a power outage shortly before 7 p.m. “ This cut affected the entire neighborhood, and not just the building where the Show takes place. [Paris Montreuil Expo, NdR]», explains Sylvie Vassalo, director of the event.
« While Enedis found out where the problem was coming from and turned the power back on, we had to follow safety instructions which are mandatory when welcoming such a large number of people into a place, since the emergency blocks did not have only one hour of battery life “, she continues.
Electric atmosphere
The book professionals present that evening therefore continued their evening elsewhere, in one of the bars located nearby or at their home. “ For my part, I expected nothing, professionally, from this evening: it is generally an opportunity to meet all kinds of people, but we find them during the festival anyway “, puts Simon Liberman, from Editions 2024, into perspective. “ That evening we spent it at the bar rather than in the lounge. »
« We had everything prepared, including our buffets, to receive hundreds of authors and professionals», underlines for his part Thierry Magnier, director of the homonymous publishing house. “We found ourselves drinking drinks here and there, others went to bed to keep their strength up for the living room. It's sad, but we'll make up for it during the week», he promises. “You have to take this bad luck with a smile, there are so many sad things going on at the moment that you have to rejoice as soon as possible. »
Best eveningever…
Some did not hesitate to put this invitation into practice right away. “Personally, I don't think I've ever benefited so much from the inauguration of the show: everything was installed more quickly and most people were stuck outside… Moreover, some publishers then distributed the petits fours outside», assures us a marketing manager.
In the end, many of them flocked to the surrounding bars, themselves surprised, but happy with this unexpected windfall. “They were delighted to finally welcome us! Best Montreuil party ever“, she affirms without hesitation. No need for EDF for the current to flow: all it takes is a spark, in short.
…or worse eveningever ?
Other professionals are not on the same wavelength, and deplore the disappearance of an evening “business that is different from Monday's professional day“. An editor points out “the dead loss represented by fridges that no longer work, train tickets and hotel nights for those who are not based in the Paris region», and awaits a gesture from the organizers of the show for these costs incurred.
She also regrets the fact “that no one in the organization even thought or was able to apologize» during the evening. “It's a show that we no longer want to do: we might as well make two trips to the region, to be better treated and have real contact with the organizers. »
“No explanations” from Montreuil town hall
Contacted, the town hall of Montreuil tells us that, “for several weeks, the City has noticed cuts or micro cuts in several sectors“. Incident reports have been requested from Enedis, which are expected to present the company's findings on these unpredictable events.
An editor present at the show told us that she noticed small power outages on the afternoon of November 27, as well as a short interruption this Thursday morning. The director of the show, Sylvie Vassalo, for her part, mentions “a single power outage», this Wednesday, November 27 in the evening.
READ – A Shoot the Book! Youth special at the SLPJ in Montreuil
GL Events, owner and operator of Paris Montreuil Expo, invites us to“get closer to Enedis”and was unable to answer our questions about their possible contractual consequences of the incident. As such, “we are not at this stage at all, we are focusing on the progress of the show», Tells us Sylvie Vassalo, who also specifies that the organization's premises, located in Montreuil, have never experienced recent power cuts.
This morning, new invitations are sent, via the inauguration files, “to suggest coming back on Friday at night, for a festive and friendly time around the 40×40 exhibition», adds the director. “We are completely sorry for what happened.“, she slips again, “and we remain 100% committed to welcoming the public, their enjoyment, and promoting the 40th anniversary of the show ».
By Antoine Oury
Contact : [email protected]
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