France seeks to ban Amazon book bundle discounts, free delivery

Advertisement
By Reuters | Updated: 24 June 2013 12:11 IST
France's Socialist government aims to introduce a law preventing online retailer Amazon from offering both discounts and free delivery for books in France, the culture minister said, arguing this amounts to unfair competition.

Aurelie Filippetti said the government was looking for the right time to introduce a ban on the practice, which book sellers say threatens their business model by allowing Amazon to undercut their prices.

"I'm in favour of ending the possibility of offering both free delivery and a five percent discount," she told BFM news television on Friday. "We need a law, so we're going to find a legislative window to introduce one."

Amazon in France declined to comment.

Filippetti's remark underscored tensions between the French government and U.S. online firms such as Amazon and Google, which have been criticised for paying too little to the creators of cultural or news content.

Advertisement

France, like other European countries, bans retailers from discounting books more than 5 percent from a sale price set by the publisher. This is to prevent small sellers from being crushed by giant retailers that can absorb bigger discounts.

Advertisement

Guillaume Husson, spokesman for the SLF book retailers' union, said Amazon's practice of bundling a 5 percent discount with free delivery amounted to selling books at a loss, which was impossible for traditional book sellers of any size.

"Today, the competition is unfair. No other book retailer, whether a small or large book or even a chain, can allow itself to lose that much money," he said, referring to Amazon's alleged losses on free delivery.

Advertisement

The SLF union had sued Amazon for unfair competition before a French court, and the case was still being reviewed, he added.

France settled a dispute with Google in February over whether it should pay content providers for linking to news articles, which resulted in the firm creating a 60-million-euro fund to support the press. France made a new push against Google this week, arguing it broke French privacy laws.

Advertisement

Filippetti's comments raised the possibility of a similar public spat with Amazon.

"This is not just in France," she said. "Amazon's behaviour, and the risks it poses for the survival of a whole network of book stores and the entire chain of book production, are obvious in Britain and in the United too."

© Thomson Reuters 2013

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Amazon, Internet
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Deal Revealed Ahead of Amazon GIF Sale
  2. These Samsung Phones Will Get Price Drops Ahead of Festive Season
  3. Xiaomi Announces Offers on These Products Ahead of Amazon, Flipkart Sales
  4. Amazon Sale 2025: Check Top Deals on These iQOO Smartphones
  5. iQOO 15 Design Leak Reveals Colour-Changing Panel: See Benchmark Scores
  6. Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale 2025: Check Early Deals on Tablets
  7. These Companies Fired Over 10K Employees Between July and September 2025
  8. Nothing Ear 3 With 'Super Mic' Feature, Up to 45dB ANC Launched: See Price
  1. Astronomers Reveal Sudden Explosion of Small Asteroid Over France
  2. Rare ‘Crescent Sunrise’ Solar Eclipse to Grace Skies Over Antarctica and New Zealand
  3. Sun Shows Signs of Rising Activity Following Decades of Weakening, Study Finds
  4. IMAP Space Weather Mission to Lift Off Soon, NASA Confirms Broadcast Plans
  5. Microsoft's Xbox Full-Screen Experience Leaks on Other Windows Handhelds Ahead of ROG Xbox Ally Debut
  6. Cellecor Comet CBS-05 Pro Bluetooth Speaker Launched in India: Price, Features
  7. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy S24 FE, Galaxy A55 5G and More to Go on Sale With Discounts During Festive Season
  8. Coinbase Urges US DOJ Action as SEC Mulls Dropping Lawsuit Against Crypto Exchange
  9. Vivo V60 Lite 4G Design, Specifications Leaked; Tipped to Launch With Snapdragon 685 SoC, 6,500mAh Battery
  10. Nothing Ear 3 Launched With Super Mic Feature, Up to 45dB Active Noise Cancellation: Price, Features
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.