French Lawmakers Take On Amazon To Protect Local Bookshops
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France’s parliament has passed a law that will prevent online book retailers, such as Amazon, from offering discounted books at free delivery, in a bill designed to support the nation’s struggling small bookstores, which have long been seen as a guardian of French language and culture.
The new law, which will now head for ratification by the Senate, was first proposed by Culture Minister Aurélie Filippetti, who had accused Amazon in the past for “dumping” books in the local market.
France’s parliament has passed a law that will prevent online book retailers, such as Amazon, from offering discounted books at free delivery, in a bill designed to support the nation’s struggling small bookstores, which have long been seen as a guardian of French language and culture.
The new law, which will now head for ratification by the Senate, was first proposed by Culture Minister Aurélie Filippetti, who had accused Amazon in the past for “dumping” books in the local market.
“Free shipping is simply – we must use the word – a strategy of dumping,” claimed Filippetti during a parliamentary debate on Thursday.
[quote]“Once they (Amazon) are in a dominant position and have wiped out our network of bookshops, it is a strong bet that they will raise their delivery charges,” the Culture Minister further alleged, as cited by The Financial Times.[/quote]Related: Farewell Borders: The End of Book Culture?
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“This law, far from preventing competition or blocking technological evolution, makes sure competition is fair between players in a fragile ecosystem,” she added.
France has about 3,500 brick-and-mortar bookstores across the country, compared to just 1,000 in Britain. According to AFP, the French have long been proud of its network of bookstores, claiming it to be “unique in the world” and crucial for culture to reach small towns.
Under existing French law, retailers are already prohibited from selling books at a discount of more than 5 percent, from a fixed price set by the publishers and authorities.
The country’s independent small bookstores though have complained that they cannot compete with online stores, which offer free shipping along with the discounts.
Terry Craven, bookseller at Shakespeare and Company Bookstore in Paris, told the BBC that the new law was “very much” in line with other, similar policies.
“It doesn’t seem to be discriminatory. Amazon has certain ways of looking at the free market which is simply not one that the French state takes, ” he said.
The new law “is good news in so far as it is supporting the independent bookshops, which we greatly appreciate,” he added.
Amazon of course took exception to the new claim, arguing that it would have a perverse effect of hurting sales of books from the back catalogue and from smaller publishing houses, which were often bought online.
[quote]”Any measure aimed at raising the price of books sold online would hurt French people’s ability to buy works of culture, and would discriminate against online consumers,” the company said in a statement.[/quote]Related: France Wants Smartphone Tax To Protect “Cultural Exception”
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Meanwhile, the French government is also taking on other U.S. Internet giants, which it claim are unfairly using their market power to overwhelm local competition.
President François Hollande has called the EU to regulate online platforms and applications and is pushing for international agreement on taxing Internet companies such as Google and Facebook in the countries where customers use their websites.
