On the windows of the Librairie Française posters announce an end of lease and discounts ranging from -20 to -60%. But in fact, it is a permanent closure. “We're not moving,” admits Mrs Mersch, the bookstore's owner. “We have to close.”

A closure that is the result of a convergence of factors: work that has dragged on, increased and “unbeatable” competition from Amazon, the downturn in the economy.

“I had extended the lease again about three years ago, but now it's not possible. We have been suffering from the [road] work downtown since 2014. Today, the tram has arrived, the Hamilius center is finished, but the much hoped-for dynamic is not at all there,” says the entrepreneur, who opened the bookstore 46 years ago with her husband, who has since retired. “In 2017, my son had taken over the business with me. But he finally chose to open another business, outside the city, in a shopping centre.”

Another problem: an overly greedy landlord. “The rent is already very high,” Mersch points out, though she cannot specify the amount for fear of lawsuits. “But with the lease renewal coming up, the landlord wanted to increase it even more, without even making a financial gesture on the rent during the weeks of closure during the lockdown last March. This is no longer tenable. Our margins on books are far too small for such efforts. I am not of the age, nor have the nerves, nor even the desire to continue in an empty city.”

The shopkeeper also regrets that the Royal-Hamilius centre is not attracting the expected shoppers and that most of the retail units remain empty.

Moreover, the pandemic has weakened sales a little more, causing the loss of lunchtime customers who continue to work from home or even those who, until a few months ago, “bought language learning manuals, for example, because some people were still taking evening classes.”

Negotiations were begun with a Belgian trader who owns 17 stores specialising in comics and figurines. “But there too, the rent was a problem and that made him abandon the idea. As a result, the staff who will not be able to retire yet will have to be laid off. It's really unfortunate, because it's a very loyal and qualified team.”

This article was originally published on Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.