Amazon is wrong to use free locker sites for book collection, says French minister

Amazon is “circumventing the legislation” that bans free postal delivery for most books in France by allowing clients to instead pick orders up at locker collection points, says Culture Minister Rachida Dati.

She is calling for a swift government “response” to end the practice.

Ordering a book online comes with a €3 surcharge in France unless the order is to a value of at least €35, under a law dating from October 2023. The aim of this is to safeguard France’s independent bookshops.

Read more: Ordering a book online in France is now more expensive - here is why

However, since November, the American retail giant has allowed customers to forgo these surcharges by proposing they pick up orders for free from Amazon locker sites in hypermarkets, supermarkets and shopping centres around France.

“We're delighted to be able to offer readers this new, convenient and cost-effective delivery option," said Géraldine Codron, head of books at Amazon France. 

Amazon collection lockers - a legal grey area

Under the 2023 law, the delivery of new books “may under no circumstances” be free of charge, “unless the book is collected from a book retailer”.

By allowing orders to be picked up from lockers located in places that sell books, Amazon would appear to be obeying the letter of the law.

However, the system has drawn criticism from independent bookshops.

“[Amazon] is a lawless player, acting contrary to a law supported by the government and approved by parliament,” the head of the French bookseller body Le Syndicat de la librairie française, Guillaume Husson, told Le Monde. “Is being on the premises of a hypermarket enough to satisfy the terms of the law?”

Speaking at the Salon du livre et de la presse jeunesse à Montreuil on November 30, Minister of Culture Rachida Dati appeared to support Mr Husson’s misgivings.

“I will make it clear: this is a circumvention of the law,” Ms Dati told French media.

“I have requested that we make our response to this clear.”

Amazon did not respond immediately to the minister’s comments.

Protecting France’s independent bookshops

There are around 3,500 independent bookshops in France, which successive French governments have sought to defend.

Read more: A record number of French bookshops opened last year

One notable policy in this vein is the 1981 Loi Lang, which protects independent bookshops by banning discounts of more than 5% on new books.

This rule is still in place and means many people will choose a local bookshop instead of a chain, because the new book costs the same price at each location.

More recently, this policy has brought French governments into conflict with Amazon, which is challenging the law in the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Amazon argues that French measures to protect independent book shores are “contrary to the law and the interests of consumers” and could “penalise readers, authors and reading in general”.