It was somewhat alluded to here and there in the article, but I think it simply has to do with the perception of dominance of the English language to French now. In past centuries France and French were still thought of as very dominant, perhaps not quite as dominant as English once the U.S. exploded onto the scene, but enough to keep it in English-speakers' minds and keep them interested in the literature coming out of France. French cultural influence is still strong but has undoubtedly waned globally over the last century, and so people (led by publishers) unfortunately aren't as interested in new French authors anymore while they'll still respect the French classics. It's nothing personal imo; English has so much of its own literature churning out all the time that English-speakers can afford to be more insular with their literature (and the U.S. especially is). It is a shame though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
...Amusingly, the french's designated villain du jour is one of the few tradpub channels actively looking for mass market foreign works to bring to the anglosphere: Amazon Crossing...
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The article only mentioned Amazon in reference to French laws designed to keep bookstores open. I would say Amazon is the villain de la décennie for bookstores, no matter which country.