PARIS (Reuters) – Online retailer Amazon.com has appealed to France’s highest administrative court to overturn part of a law seeking to charge a minimum 3-euro ($3.3) delivery fee for books purchased online, it said on Tuesday.
Amazon France said the clause in the law, which stipulates that books ordered online for a value of less than 35 euros must have a minimum 3-euro delivery fee, went against the general interest of French consumers at a time of concern over rising costs.
The law is due to come into effect in October and represents an increase to Amazon’s previous charge of a single euro cent on book deliveries in France.
Previous French governments have issued similar legislation, which has been aimed at protecting local, independent bookstores in the face of competition from Amazon. Amazon says such measures will hit lower-income people who may live in rural areas without any bookshops.
“This measure will deal a severe blow to the budgets of French people and will limit their access to books at a time when consumers’ purchasing power is one of their main worries,” said Amazon France Chief Executive Frederic Duval.
The French Ministry of Culture said it would not comment on the matter.
Guillaume Husson, who heads the Syndicat de la Librairie Francaise bookshops union, criticised Amazon’s move and said it showed how the giant online retailer wanted to have a monopoly on the online book market.
($1 = 0.9122 euros)
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
