Paris (EFE).- The French government published a decree on Friday that sets shipping costs for books purchased on Amazon and other digital platforms at a minimum of 3 euros, in an attempt to protect traditional bookstores.
The measure, which will enter into force on October 7, follows the recommendations of the Authority for the Regulation of Electronic Communication, Post Office and Press Distribution (Arcep), which had proposed in April 2022 a minimum rate of 3 euros in expenses of shipping for all orders under 35 euros.
The decree does not affect, however, orders greater than or equal to 35 euros, for which the minimum price will be 0.01 euros.
The Government’s objective is to encourage purchases in French bookstores, which make up one of the densest networks in the world: it is estimated that there are around 3,500 in the country and that they sell approximately half of the books sold in France.
These shops often cannot compete with the distribution prices offered by digital platforms (the price of the book is, in principle, fixed in France), and in particular Amazon, which monopolizes a large part of the market.
For this reason, the French Bookstore Union (SLF), which brings together about a third of independent bookstores, asked for a minimum rate of 4.5 euros, higher than the one now approved by the Government.
The Executive justifies its decision of the 3 euros by the increase in inflation in the country, as well as to respect European free market regulations.
“This measure constitutes a first step to rebalance the competition between retailers in the online book sales market”, considers in any case the SLF, which criticizes the “almost free” of orders over 35 euros and asks for a fee advantageous postcard that allows “to make bookstores truly competitive”.
The decree is part of what is known as the Darcos law of December 30, 2021 on the book market, an update of another 1981 law, which has already undergone modifications motivated by the growing weight of electronic commerce and, in particular, Amazon.
Thus, in 2014, the technology giant was prohibited from adding free shipping costs to those books that were already sold with a 5% discount on the price (maximum discount set by law).