French booksellers accuse Amazon of trying to 'circumvent laws banning free book deliveries'

French booksellers are accusing Amazon in France of trying to circumvent laws for a second time banning online retailers from offering free book deliveries in France.

"Amazon is seizing power to interpret laws in its favour and to trample on a bill voted into law by a sovereign parliament,” said an op-ed in Le Monde on 21st November signed by the heads of the French Booksellers Association (Syndicat de la Librairie Française, SLF), the Cultural Product Distributors Association (Syndicat des Distributeurs de Loisirs Culturels, SDLC) and the leading cultural products chain Fnac-Darty (Alexandra Charroin Spangenberg, Pierre Coursières and Enrique Martinez).

The first time was in 2014, when parliament banned free deliveries to people’s homes and Amazon introduced a delivery fee of one cent. In 2021, the Darcos law fixed a sliding scale of delivery fees, starting at €3, in line with those for other products, but exempted orders retrieved in bookshops. The aim was to buttress the role these outlets play in the country, the op-ed said.

The signatories were reacting to an announcement by Amazon earlier this month that the online retailer would provide free book deliveries to more than 2,500 pick-up points across France in shops that "notably sell books". More than 70% of the pick-up points are located in rural areas or small towns, the company said. These involve mainly lockers in shopping malls where large supermarkets are located, the op-ed noted.

It was alleged that: “The all-powerful giant (…) considers it is above the will of the French parliament,” which, during the debates before it adopted the law, excluded lockers from free deliveries. A locker installed in a shopping mall where a supermarket has a small book section “is clearly not a bookseller", the op-ed added.

"Amazon is pursuing its ‘strategy of predation’ and ‘cowboy behaviour’. It is engaged in a cultural battle [and] we expect the authorities to put an immediate halt to this cultural public disorder," the op-ed said.

The crackdown on free deliveries has boosted visits to bookshops. Contrary to studies commissioned by Amazon, the book market in France is stable in terms of both value and volume, the op-ed added.

In response to The Bookseller’s request for comment, an Amazon spokesperson said in an email: “This initiative facilitates access to books, especially in small towns and rural areas, and complies with the Darcos law.” Books can be shipped free of charge provided that they are picked up in a store that sells books, the spokesperson added.

A study carried out by polling agency IFOP for Amazon and published in October showed that four out of 10 book shoppers have reduced their purchases and read less since October 2023 when the law took effect.

More than six out of 10 said the delivery fee had reduced their buying power, and only 26% of respondents visiting bricks and mortar stores more regularly as a result of the new fee said they went to independent booksellers. By contrast, 70% said they were turning to hypermarkets (large supermarkets), major general cultural stores and newsagents that sell books, the study added.