Amazon
has responded to France’s newest book sale law by
complying—well, technically.
The anti-Amazon bill, as it’s known, requires the online retail
giant to charge book buyers shipping fees for their online
literature purchases. The company announced on its French website
that it will indeed follow the letter of the law by setting its
shipping costs to customers “to the minimum permitted by law.” Book
lovers in France will be charged a whopping .01 euros per shipment
of books—a penny per order.
The ban on free shipping was passed last year by France’s ruling
Socialist Party, but only recently went into effect. The new rule
is actually an amendment to a 32-year-old French law that tightly
regulates book prices.
The new requirement applies to all online book retailers but has
been called the anti-Amazon bill because
Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti has singled out the company in
the past.
In January 2004, the French Booksellers Union took Amazon to
court for offering free delivery and the high court in Versailles
ruled in the union’s favor. The court told Amazon to either starts
charging shipping or face a daily fine of 1,000 euros. Amazon stuck
it to the union and decided to incur the fine rather than charge
its French customers more.
And it looks like this tit-for-tat tango between the two will go
on: Amazon
is considering an appeal with the European
Commission.
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