-
Three major wildfires continue to burn in south and south-west France amid heatwave conditions
Workers at Goodyear tyre testing circuit in Hérault evacuated as blaze passes dangerously close to site containing fuel
-
Hydrogen project in Lorraine offers hope for cleaner transport
Underground hydrogen was discovered in the department in 2023
-
Revolutionary bottle-washing plant cuts carbon footprint of French wine
Eco in Pack leads the way in reusing wine bottles, cutting costs and emissions
Amazon closes warehouses, no deliveries in France
Amazon has closed all six of its warehouses in France after a court decision ruled that security measures against Covid-19 virus were not being respected by the e-commerce giant.
Nanterre’s court ordered the company on Tuesday to only deliver essential products such as food, medical or hygiene products.
If this was not respected, the company would be condemned to €1million for each offence per day.
Many items are classified as essential on the Amazon website but may not in fact be considered essential under the court rules. Examples include hair dye products and nail clippers which are in the hygiene category but are not deemed essential.
However, following the order Amazon announced that it is closing its warehouses in France, for five days, until April 20, to see if it is possible for security measures to be put in place for deliveries to restart after this.
Deliveries are therefore suspended and it is not known when they will re-start.
The company is appealing the court decision which comes after complaints from unions asking Amazon to stop or at least reduce activity.
However, sellers on Amazon who do not stock their products at Amazon’s warehouses can continue to deliver orders directly to customers.
Amazon employees have been asked to stay at home and will benefit from short-term unemployment benefit (chômage partiel) with the company making up the rest of their salary.
Stay informed:
Sign up to our free weekly e-newsletter
Subscribe to access all our online articles and receive our printed monthly newspaper The Connexion at your home. News analysis, features and practical help for English-speakers in France