Paris to Save Bookstores in Latin Quarter

I couldn't believe the story when I heard it. Paris is trying to save their cultural heritage with a fund for bookshops. They would use this fund to buy the buildings for these stores and control the rents to protect these small businesses from the real estate boom. Oh my God! Amazing! If only this country would be so enlightened!

From PRI's The World report by Gerry Hadden:
"Saving Paris' left bank" —

(you need Window Media Player) Parisians are on a cultural crusade to save one of its historic neighborhoods. The cafes and bookstores in the city's Latin Quarter have long been a draw for artists and intellectuals. Locals now fear that chain stores are stealing the Left Bank's character.