The electronic commerce giant Amazon announced Tuesday that it was attacking before the Council of State a measure aimed at increasing the costs of shipping books, protesting “a heavy blow to the French budget.”
Amazon France files an appeal for abuse of power against a ministerial decree of April 4, which it vigorously opposed, it explains in a press release.
This decree, which should enter into force at the beginning of October, sets the regulatory threshold for shipping costs at 3 euros for orders of less than 35 euros.
The government’s objective is to apply the law of December 30, 2021 on the “book economy”, which was intended to encourage book buyers to go to bookstores, to avoid these shipping costs.
A measure that “will penalize readers”
According to Amazon, the measure is “contrary to the rights and interests of consumers.”
“The online offer and that of the booksellers are, in fact, complementary: almost one in two books sold by Amazon is sent to small cities and the countryside, that is, to territories often without bookstores,” he continued.
The EU criticizes France
Amazon invokes the opinion issued in February by the European Commission, very critical of France.
Brussels considered that the French Government had not shown how the increase in shipping costs would serve its objective of “maintaining a dense and diversified network” of bookstores and “the diversity and quality of the editorial offer.”
France, moreover, has not “provided an assessment of less restrictive alternative measures,” the Commission lamented.
Amazon says it is in favor of “the establishment of a dedicated postage rate, which already exists for sending books abroad.”
Source: BFM TV
