How Parenthèses Keeps French Culture Alive in Hong Kong

We’re shining a light on some of the independent bookshops that are keeping Hong Kong’s literary scene alive. Stay tuned for our upcoming Zolima’s Picks roundup!

It’s a Wednesday afternoon and Wellington Street is slowing down after the lunchtime rush. As office workers drift back to their desks, we duck into the Duke of Wellington House and head up two floors — not to our desk but to a small bookshop where the smell of paper volumes greets us as we emerge from the lift. 

This is Parenthèses, one of the few French-language bookshops in Hong Kong, including Indosiam, which has been in operation for nearly four decades. Stepping into the space, we are greeted by a brown leather armchair and a red neon sign that pays homage to the shop’s name. It feels like home. Coming out of their office from a phone call, owner and general manager Madeline Progin and her colleague Emmanuelle Le Moing greet us with genuine warmth, as if welcoming an old friend into their calm abode. 

They begin by introducing the different books carefully shelved into categories — a trove that spans history books, children’s titles, notable translations and publications featured in the shop’s most recent book talks, including Cassandra O’Donnell’s fantasy novels, Alexandra Unrein’s Colourful Hong Kong Street Art and our very own Neon Is Not Dead. Educational books, pocket books, stationery and DVDs of French film classics are also on the shelves. Le Moing estimates that roughly 95 percent of the collection is in French, with the remaining five percent in other languages, mainly English and Chinese translations of French classics.

“What would you like to drink?” asks Progin, who then serves lemon ginger tea in a bright yellow mug. 

The building blocks

Parenthèses first opened its doors in 1987. Two years later, Progin bought the store in Duke of Wellington House, which was located on the fourth floor. “In 1989, I was already in Hong Kong for 10 years,” she recalls. “I had a daughter who was eight years old, and I wanted to do something meaningful, as I really like books.”

In its early days, Parenthèses also sold French wine and chocolate — though her true passion lay in books. With financial support from her husband, she expanded in 2001 to a larger unit on the second floor of the same building, dedicating the space entirely to books.

At the time, the French community was thriving, with a steadily growing number of French people moving to the city, especially after the 2008 global financial crisis, and later expanding with four French International School campuses. Though the French community has always been the backbone of the bookshop’s clientele, it has also attracted many others, including Hong Kong Chinese customers who studied French at the local outpost of the Alliance Française, with its 6,000 annual students. Le Moing estimates about 30 percent of customers are non-French.

The community to the rescue 

For a time, Hong Kong was home to the largest French population in Asia, with more than 20,000 French citizens living in the city in 2016. Enrollment in the French International School had doubled in the previous 10 years. Then the pandemic hit. Like many small businesses, Parenthèses was severely affected by the upheaval of health restrictions, but it was doubly hit by the exodus of many French expats. As nearly half of Hong Kong’s French community left the city, the bookshop’s sales dropped by about 50 per cent. 

The last three years have been a struggle for survival, as Parenthèses relied on its savings to keep the doors open. Ironically, many customers thought it was doing well, because it continued to host a large number of events. A wide range of personalities from writers and comic book illustrators to chefs and dancers spoke at the bookshop, including acclaimed writer Leïla Slimani and legendary actor Gérard Jugnot. But sales weren’t keeping up with the bills: Parenthèses was at risk of closing last year. 

In April 2025, the bookshop wrote an open letter on Instagram to tell its followers of the bleak situation. “Dear members of the francophone community, after 37 years of serving our community, your bookstore could close its doors at the end of the year. A symbolic venue is in peril,” it stated in French. 

The community rallied to the cause. “When they heard of the difficulties, they came and helped the best they could; they bought books and stationery,” says Progin. 

Le Moing says she was moved by the community’s support. She notes that the French consulate has long recognised Parenthèses as an essential part of Hong Kong’s French cultural life, and Christile Drulhe, the city’s current consul-general, often highlights its role in speeches and public events. 

A cultural haven 

Apart from a diminishing French community and the usual Hong Kong struggle with high rent, technology is another major hurdle for Parenthèses. With information and French-learning resources like language applications and online dictionaries just a click away, fewer people venture out to buy books in person. But that’s where a bookshop offers something the internet cannot: genuine, real-world connections.

More than a bookseller, Parenthèses is a space for visitors to interact, attend regular events and ask for information about living in Hong Kong, including advice on restaurants, healthcare and any number of other topics. For newcomers and tourists, it’s a spot to visit; for longtime residents and travellers, a familiar anchor. In adapting to the digital age, Parenthèses continues to redefine its role: it remains a “French island,” as Le Moing describes it, where l’Hexagone’s culture and community thrive.

La Francophonie also contributes to the city’s broader effort to promote the French language and culture each year. Organised by the French-speaking consulates of France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada, in collaboration with the Alliance Française de Hong Kong and Parenthèses, the annual March festival, first launched in 2000, features a mix of exhibitions, readings and talks. Last year, highlights included a Jules Verne exhibition and a discussion of The Flavours of Concrete, an autobiographical graphic novel by illustrator Kei Lam about her adolescence in a Parisian suburb.

This year, as part of La Francophonie, two leading figures of contemporary Francophone literature will be celebrated. Graphic novelist Guy Delisle — known for works like Shenzhen, his witty account of expat life in southern China — will share his latest work, Muybridge: In a Fraction of a Second, spotlighted at the Hong Kong Central Library throughout March. (He will also host a book signing event at Parenthèses as part of his visit.)

Author Elisa Shua Dusapin’s Hiver à Sokcho (Winter in Sokcho) shines too, with a novel set in a Korean seaside town that delicately explores identity, emotional distance and human connection. Director Koyo Kamura’s film adaptation will screen on 16 March at the Fringe Club.

Resilient with a smile 

What has sustained Parenthèses through all of its challenges are the profound human connections that take place behind its doors. These are relationships forged beyond shelves and generations. “When you run a bookshop, it’s not about the money,” says Progin. Customers return after long absences, bringing children or grandchildren, marvelling that this beacon of French culture remains relatively unchanged amid a city where so many iconic shops and landmarks fade away.

The shop is embracing the future with determination. “It’s not easy,” says Progin. She pauses, weighing each word carefully, then continues: “We’re still here enjoying ourselves and doing things with a smile. The day I don’t enjoy curating book selections and sharing them with readers, that’s when I stop.”

As it looks forward to its 40th anniversary in 2027, Parenthèses stands resilient — a testament to human connection and the culture of shared knowledge it champions in an accelerating world. The store hopes readers will continue to visit in person, pick up a book and discover themselves in another world. 

Parenthèses is located at 2/F, Duke of Wellington House, 14-24 Wellington Street, Central. For more information, click here.