On Thursday, 21st March, Ferran Mascarell, the Catalan Minister of Culture; Xavier Trias, the Mayor of Barcelona and Jaume Ciurana, the Deputy Mayor for Culture, Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation; Vicenç Villatoro, the Director of the Institut Ramon Llull, and Àlex Susanna, the Associate Director, attended the inauguration of Barcelona's stand at the 33rd Paris International Book Fair, organized by the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL). The fair was opened by François Hollande, the President of the French Republic, and Marie Aurélie Filippetti, the French Minister of Culture and Communications.

The Minister of Culture, Ferran Mascarell, saw Barcelona's presence at the Fair as leading to the creation of new opportunities and the expression of the vitality of Catalan literature and the city's brand. He emphasized that "this will lead to new editions and translations in many countries, which will strengthen our publishing industry."

The Director of the Institut Ramon Llull, Vicenç Villatoro, stated his belief that the Fair had invited not only a literary city such as Barcelona, but also an entire literature along with it: "It is an opportunity to present literature created in Barcelona in Spanish and Catalan, and literature that deals with Barcelona or uses the city as a theme, as well as achieving a brand image."

Finally, the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, lauded Barcelona's participation at the Paris Book Fair, following on from fairs in Moscow and Buenos Aires. It "gives us great satisfaction" to be able to "show ourselves to the world and publicize our writers". He concluded that "it is a success story for the city." 

Barcelone, ville des prodiges
Barcelona is the Guest City at the Paris International Book Fair, one of the most important literary events fairs in the world, which will take place from 22nd to 25th March. Taking the slogan Barcelone, ville des prodiges (city of wonders), some thirty authors whose works are closely linked to the Catalan capital and have recently been translated in to French will be presented at the Fair.
 
The following authors will be taking part: Sebastià Alzamora, Arnal Ballester, Jordi Bernet, Jaume Cabré, Javier Calvo, Maite Carranza, Javier Cercas, Miguel Gallardo, Alicia Giménez Bartlett, Juan Goytisolo, Mercè Ibarz, Salvador Macip, Gabriel Janer Manila, Berta Marsé, Eduardo Mendoza, Imma Monsó, Miquel de Palol, Sergi Pàmies, Marc Pastor, Rubén Pellejero, Jordi Puntí, Carme Riera, Albert Sánchez Piñol and Francesc Serés. There will also be acts related to the writers Josep Pla, Joanot Martorell, Maria-Mercè Marçal, Mercè Rodoreda and Manuel Vázquez Montalbán.