Can the French capital save its famous quayside booksellers?

The independent booksellers lining the picturesque embankments of the River Seine in Paris are an attraction for tourists and lovers of old books alike, some of whom come to browse the quintessentially Parisian green boxes for hours at a time.

The booksellers in their present form have existed since 1891, when traders were first allowed to store their goods in lockable boxes overnight on the quays, though people have been selling books on the banks of the Seine for almost five centuries.