Hemingway is a festive bestseller

Adopted as a symbol of defiance following the Paris attacks, A Moveable Feast, sold 40,000 copies last week

ERNEST Hemingway's memoir A Moveable Feast (Paris est une Fête) has made France's top-10 bestseller list in the run-up to Christmas, after sales surged following the Paris terror attacks.

The title, which has seen a revival as a symbol of defiance following the attacks on November 13, has been in the top 100 best-sellers list for the past six weeks, since shortly after the November 13 attacks - reaching as high as ninth place during Christmas week.

The book normally shifts about 8,000 copies a year. In the week from December 14-20 alone, more than 40,000 copies were sold, according to sales figures from Edistat.

Le Journal du Dimanche credits a 77-year-old retired Parisian avocat with the book's surge in popularity. Danielle Mérian was interviewed by BFMTV on November 16 explaining the book's significance after the deadliest attack on French soil since the second world war.

The book's French title, Paris est une Fête, has now been used by the Mairie de Paris in an ad campaign encouraging locals to return to their favourite cafe terraces, concert venues and markets.

After the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris in January, Voltaire's Traité sur la Tolérance saw a boost in sales.