If you’re looking for a book on 19^th century pottery from Savoie, I know just the place. The Librairie du Camée on the rue St. André des Arts in Paris specializes in French folk art. It’s hard to imagine how a shop so specific survives let along thrives in these difficult economic times. Yet, owner Francoise Cogan boasts that from her 11 square meters, filled floor to ceiling with esoteric volumes on French corkscrews or Burgundian coopers’ tools, she sells more per foot than the FNAC, Paris’s most popular book retailer. And she has been doing so for 27 years.

It’s a heartening story and speaks volumes about the loyalty of her customers. I, myself, make it a point to buy a new tome or two every time I’m there. Furthermore, it’s testimony to how much the French are enamored by their cultural history. Seemingly, there’s no topic too esoteric for a dedicated work. Gallic fervor aside, I always marvel at how strenuously the French fight to maintain their traditions, their rituals, and their patrimony. In other words, the French are so French!

Have you noticed that, too?