Gérard Proust, head of the National Union of Press Distributors (UNDP) in France, has called on the government to provide €4,000 in transitional aid to newspaper sales merchants, he mentioned in an interview with Le Figaro last week. The same figure was provided last year, but as the number of newsstands plunges, newspaper sales outlets may be losing hope in the industry.

"Transitional aid is not enough. I am officially calling on the State to continue its effort. I am aware of the financial obligations of the state," Proust said. "But I think that today it is necessary to send a strong signal to our sector by renewing the aid this year." Even though other markets, such as books, may show positive figures, copy sales of the press sector continue to dwindle. However, the jump in distribution and audience numbers indicate that there is a public need towards information and that consumers are still interested in paid print content, Proust explains.

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He cites that although he is surrounded by claims that print has no future and that it is being replaced by new media platforms, the industry has seen investment (e.g. the new printing presses for daily Le Figaro) and success, i.e. magazines like the women-oriented Biba or sports-themed L'Équipe and the more recent feminine titles that "build their nests close to the Internet."

"The problem with newsstand sales is essentially to do with the distribution conditions: broadcasters get discouraged and outlets close; consumers turn away and sales drop," Proust said. The reform of the distribution sector was launched in 2008 by the States General of the Press and revolved around two central issues: the exposure conditions of the press at merchants (i.e. better linear organisation, assorting titles based on clients and boosting numbers) as well as the economic strengthening of the network. The latter was intended to amplify distributors' profits by three points in three years.

According to Proust, while distribution companies and trustees received help during the financial crisis, that saw the press sector experiencing a decline in sales and ads, the merchants felt somewhat forgotten. For example, Presstalis, which handles distribution networks, saw a €26.5 million debt last year and was subsequently restructured by being absorbed by publishers, the Legardère media firm and the State, according to Jura Libertere. Meanwhile, press trustees saw a one-point rise in their profits.

Since January, 300 shops selling print titles had to be shut down (a net figure that includes newly opened shops). Last year, 20 percent of additional newsstands, amounting to 50, were reborn as outlets specializing in a particular area of the press. He adds that technical reform has slowed down. Publishers refuse to decrease the volume of issues printed, which translates into the need to keep their titles visible on the market so that advertising can be recovered. The assortment of titles has to be adapted to the client
base and give news sales merchants the responsibility in that field.

Proust concludes that he is waiting for the Board of Press Couriers to advise publishers that the assortment of their titles is a professional standard and the "absolute condition required to re-motivate the merchant and to satisfy the consumer."