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FranceKey Indicators Values Sources, commentsBook market size (p+e, at consumer prices) €4,534 million 2011 Syndicat National de l’Edition (FrenchPublishers’ Association, SNE)Titles published per year (new and successive editions) 86,295 SNE (figure for 2012)New titles per 1 million inhabitants 1,340 French National Statistics InstituteeBook titles (available from publishers) ca. 126,000 From publishersPublisher revenue share of ebooks ca. 2.1% of trade (GfK), 3% (SNE) Estimates GfK, SNEKey market parametersFixed book price; VAT of 7% for print, audio books,and ebookscomplete report is available online from the French government).In response to debate on how to act against piratedebooks, the French publishers´ association has signed anagreement with their British homologues to adapt theirCopyright Infringement Portal in a French version (see alsoActuaLitté, August 5, 2013).For an overview of dedicated ebook ventures and distributorsgo to “Selected distributors and new ebook venturesin 2012 and 2013” on page 35.Earlier developments in France 2012It had come as a surprise to some that readers in the countryof the Marquis de Sade, Georges Batailles, and CatherineMillet could fall for a clearly less-sophisticated versionof eroticism imported from America. And yet 900,000printed copies plus another 40,000 ebooks had beenpicked up in the French translations, which again made itto the pages of the New York Times (January 16, 2013).Despite the boom, one major retail channel for all formsof media content, Virgin, which in 2012 had started to getserious about ebooks, went bust. The fifth-largest retailchain for books, according to Livres Hebdo, with a turnoverof €280 million, of which €80 million came from books, anda market share of 2 to 4% of the French book market, declaredbankruptcy in January 2013 (Livres Hebdo, January14, 2013).Overall, 2012 was a flat year for bookselling, as were theyears before (Livres Hebdo, January 11, 2013). Althoughexact numbers are not yet available, interviews by thetrade magazine Lives Hebdo with various retailers reflectalmost unanimously on a difficult end for 2012 sales. Accordingto estimates, even at Amazon growth seems tohave slowed down in 2012, but at a high level of some 60%market share for online sales of primarily printed books.But overall, online sales are believed to account for justaround 10% of the entire retail market for books, which issmall when compared to Anglosaxon countries or neighboringGermany.However, consumers have started to embrace digital devicesthat can be used for reading: In 2012, some 3.6 milliontablet computers plus another 300,000 dedicated ereaderswere sold in France (compared to 145,000 in 2011). Thisshould trigger growth in ebooks by some 80% at least (LivresHebdo, May 3, 2012, and Livres Hebdo, January 11,2013, print edition, page 17).Perhaps even more conclusive is research commissionedby the French publishers’ association SNE in March, and thenupdated in September of 2012. In spring, a mere 5% of theFrench population over 18 admitted to having read anebook. Another 5% considered doing so. A staggering 90%said flatly “Non,” as they could not see themselves exchangingpaper for a screen. Only half a year later, 14% ofthe adults had in fact read an ebook at least in part, plusanother 8% would give it a thought at least. As in mostcountries, the strongest segment of the reading populationhas started to embrace digital first. The tablet seemedto gain forcefully over the ereaders. Remarkable shifts maybe under way, if a tendancy regarding the prefered locationsfor downloads solidifies: The share for general Internetplatforms such as Amazon, the Apple Store, and Googlegrew from 38% to 41%, while the share of specialized bookplatforms such as Fnac or Virgin declined from 30 to 28%.But this snapshot may be too random to identify it as atrend (Sofia, SNE, SGDL: “Baromètre des usages du livrenumérique,” Vague 1, March 2012; Vague 2, September2012).32 The Global eBook Report