In France, Amazon filed an appeal before the Council of State to have a decree on book delivery costs repealed. This represents 3 euros applied for orders less than 35 euros. This measure, in force since October, is supposed to support independent bookstores which are losing ground in the face of e-commerce giants.
For the general director of Amazon France, Frédéric Duvalguest on RTL this Tuesday, April 30, “it’s a measure that is counterproductive. Because today, it does not encourage reading in France. We commissioned an IFOP survey which shows very clearly that this measure affects the purchasing power of the French: 60% of readers today in France say that this measure affects their purchasing power and 40% of them say that ‘they will reduce their purchases of new books.’
Frédéric Duval believes in particular that this measure is problematic for areas in which there are no, or few, bookstores. “We absolutely must reverse this decision and ensure that French culture is disseminated throughout France, at the same price for all French people,” he asserts.
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