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On the eve of the opening of the 30th Salon du livre (26–31 March), Libération has opened up its pages for 41 French novelists and poets, even as Le Monde mulls the life expectancy of this annual event: "too big, too costly, not original enough, with too much regional emphasis", the Paris book fair is “in the throes of an identity crisis”, opines the daily. "Breaking with a tradition established in 1989, this year’s choice was not to invite a guest country to spotlight its national literature". The point, explains Le Monde, is to honour the writers themselves, above all, including several “heavyweights” like Yasmina Khadra, Imre Kertész, Umberto Eco, Jean-Claude Carrière, Paul Auster and Salman Rushdie. At a time when "bookshops are losing customers right, left and centre”, the organisers are hoping to draw 200,000 visitors this year, adds Le Monde.
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