New legislation, designed to protect thousands of local bookstores, and nicknamed the anti-Amazon law, was passed last week by the French Senate. It will not formally take effect until after the president signs it, in the next two weeks.
But the state’s culture minister, Aurélie Filippetti, has already publicly backed the measure, which has drawn support from conservative and liberal politicians. The minister called the ban “a sign of the deep commitment of the nation to books.”
An Amazon spokeswoman in France declined to comment about the measure, which has its roots in the 1981 “Lang Law.” Then, the culture ministry created fixed prices to help independent bookstores compete with chains. It permits book discounts up to 5 percent, which Amazon was giving along with free shipments — offers that politicians considered a competitive advantage.
With the new measure, online booksellers can offer the same discount, but must charge for shipping.
The passage of the law comes as Amazon is facing brush fires elsewhere from publishers in Germany, who accuse it of violating competition laws, and from editors in England who complain about new distribution terms that the company is imposing.
With the French law, politicians like Brigitte Gonthier-Maurin, a senator, seized the opportunity to criticize the company for minimizing its taxes in its markets by setting up operations in Luxembourg.
