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."

Advertisement

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.

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.

Advertisement

"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.

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

Advertisement

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.

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

 

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.

Further reading: Amazon, Internet
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Philips Set to Launch New 5G-Supported Smartphone in India
  1. Apple 'Surprise and Shine' Event Set for September 9; iPhone 18 Series, Apple Watch Series 12 Expected
  2. Revolut Introduces MiCA-Compliant EURR Stablecoin to European Crypto Services
  3. Telegram 13th Anniversary Update Brings Welcome Messages, Interactive Buttons, and More
  4. Rockstar Games Says GTA 6 Leaks Have Been 'Heartbreaking', Promises More Details Soon
  5. Perplexity’s Portable Computer Launched, Brings Cloud-Like AI Agent Capabilities to Edge Devices
  6. Bitwise Launches Three Automated Portfolios Using Coinbase Tokenised US Stocks
  7. Oppo Find X10 Series Display Features Leaked Again Ahead of Expected September Launch
  8. Instagram First Draft Launched With the Ability to Automatically Trim Clips for Reels
  9. RWA Deposits Rise Sharply on DeFi Platforms Despite 15% Drop in Overall DeFi Deposits
  10. Tecno Spark Go 3 Pro India Launch Date, Design, Key Features Leaked Online
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2026. All rights reserved.