ActuaLitté discovered this last November: 22 years since this pricing solution had been in place, promoting international sending by individuals, businesses or associations. And this, to promote the “influence of French culture“. Except that this service is too heavy according to La Poste – which however did not provide an evaluation – and will therefore stop within five months.
At the start of the 2018 school year, La Poste had already carried out a reassessment of prices: the Minister of Culture at the time, Franck Riester, put things into perspective by considering that they “abode[aient] very affordable“. Certainly, but nevertheless: the increase was obvious and as Bercy stated in 2017, “maintaining the advantageous commercial offers available for sending Books requires shared financial efforts».
READ – Books and Brochures: “Another bad blow for independent publishing”
Several logistics operators also tell us that La Poste is just beginning to inform its customers – some talking about stopping with immediate effect. However, the site announces a two-stage procedure: January for stopping the bags, July for the killing. Some also explain to us that they have been worried by significant returns of packages in recent weeks, without receiving details.
Silence, we turn (a page)
Taking note of this break in pricing policy, journalist and author Judith Lossman is in turn trying to mobilize by initiating a petition – the third to date on this subject.
In a letter addressed to Rachida Dati, she denounces total obscurity: “No one, even in high places within La Poste, is able to explain to me the disappearance of this rate. The hypothesis that comes up is that this decision is up to your ministry and there is “talk” of a removal of subsidy which would force La Poste to update its prices. I am ready to hear from you on this subject. »
And to add: “At a time when a French-speaking world is being sold to us with great fanfare at the slightest opportunity, the simplest thing would be for you to take an immediate decision to cancel the removal of this tariff, which affects many families and many cultural SMEs. and authors more than need. »
His voice is thus added to those which, like the Federation of Independent Editions, the L'Autre livre association or even the bookseller Philippe Mesnard, who was the first to mount a collective appeal. The Post Office resigned? This is the whole question that questions the inter-profession today… somewhat helpless.
«For a 600 g book (approximately 400 pages and regardless of its value in euros), the price to ship it increased from €1.74 (until December 31, 2024) to 5.65 euros between January 1, 2025 and June 30, 2025 and will reach… 37.30 euros or 600% increase from July 1, 2025, date the removal of this tariff», Indicates Judith Lossman in the text of her petition.
However, a step back would imply a strong political will: this Books and Brochures offer in fact came from the La Poste group, and did not respond to “no legal obligation under the universal postal service», replied rue de Valois, contacted on several occasions. Conclusion : “The Group's objective is to maintain an economical service while continuing the effort to reduce the deficit generated by this offer, which it supports in full. »
-In other words, unless it puts pressure on the company, La Poste is not forced to do anything… The petition can be found at this address.
Senators and deputies on deck
The parliamentarians also contacted the rue de Valois: Jean-Raymond Hugonet (Essonne — Les Républicains) deplored, 15 days after our article, a gray area: “If the State has no voice in decision-making, it is regrettable to see the competitiveness of French players in the publishing field decline internationally, when it is already affected on this point by competition from platforms online. »
A month later, Jérôme Darras (Pas-de-Calais – SER) hit the nail on the head: “This decision risks having significant consequences for independent booksellers and publishers. It will result in significant additional costs, while the large online sales platforms offer their customers free or very low-cost deliveries.. »
Their co-religionists from the Palais Bourbon are not left out: Richard Ramos (Loiret —Les Démocrates) insists to Rachida Dati: “The cessation of this system is a hard blow for publishers, particularly for independent publishing, because it will result in additional costs. ».
Clémentine Autain (Seine–Saint-Denis —Ecologist and Social), David Guerin (Seine-Maritime —Horizons & Indépendants) and Hendrik Davi (Bouches-du-Rhône —Ecologist and Social) for their part challenge the Ministry of the Economy: “Once again, La Poste no longer has the means to carry out its public service mission, due to lack of compensation from the State.», underlines the first.
The other two point out the risks: “This decision is all the more incomprehensible when we know that online platforms like Amazon bypass mandatory shipping costs, via relay points and offer prices that are difficult to match.» To be continued…
Photo credits: Clayton Parker, CC BY SA 2.0
By Nicolas Gary
Contact : [email protected]
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