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I just came across this event while reading French magazines. I think it's an event that brings books to young people in France. I just can't find the translation of this phrase...is it like getting lost in a book? "leaving" in a book and not being able to put it down? Or is it more like leaving a book behind or something?

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  • Partir en livre n'existe pas. Je suppose qu'il s'agit de partir en live
    – Damien
    Dec 26, 2019 at 12:30
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    I think you should try to work the following website into your question: culture.gouv.fr/Regions/Drac-Grand-Est/Aides-et-demarches/… .. I'm not a native speaker of French so please take my comment with a grain of salt, but I don't hear "live" (as pronounced in "partir en live") as being a homophone of the way "livre" is pronounced in French. Perhaps your concern about this positive event being tied to the negative "partir en live" could be resolved by seeing "en livre" as playing on "en vacance" or even "en ligne."
    – Papa Poule
    Dec 26, 2019 at 15:40

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Note: I do not really know the event "Partir en Livre" so my presentation is shortened and necessarily inaccurate.

It is an event promoted by the French Ministry of Culture to encourage young people to read (c.f. the "official" website). Book professio­nals and associations meet young people to encourage them to read. They may move books to the beach, to the campsite... and do animations.

In my mind, the play on words means "imagine something" or "escape by the thought" through reading. The pun is derived from the collocation "partir en voyage", this event was also named "lire en short" (because people wear shorts during summer vacations).

Éditorial du ministre de la Culture [...]

Alors comme les petits héros de Zep, du 10 au 21 juillet, chevauchez des livres, envolez-vous et rêvez ! Bonne fête à toutes et à tous !

Franck Riester
ministre de la Culture

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C'est une fête du livre, dont l'appellation est un jeu de mots avec Partir en live qui signifie « mal tourner ».

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    Aha, so it's a play on words! Thank you! But why in this context though? Doesn't 'partir en live' hold negative connotations (and the event is about book sharing)? Dec 26, 2019 at 12:53
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    @ElisabethWelsh: It's just based on homophony of those two expressions.
    – Toto
    Dec 26, 2019 at 13:00
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    @ElisabethWelsh: It's a “manifestation” where authors meet readers and exchange their feeling on books.
    – Toto
    Dec 26, 2019 at 13:04
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    Yes, it hold negative connotations, but it's too show that the books are "living" and a source of passion..
    – Quidam
    Dec 26, 2019 at 18:48
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    Ce que je trouve bien, c'est les votes négatifs sans explication ni commentaire.
    – Toto
    Dec 27, 2019 at 12:25

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