PARIS — In France, Amazon will need to raise its book delivery fees to at least €3.
The French government announced Friday it endorsed the telecom and postal regulator’s proposal to impose a €3 delivery fee for books when the order is under €35. Arcep was tasked with coming up with a proposal, in the context of a piece of legislation passed last year and designed to target Amazon specifically.
Policymakers aimed to protect brick-and-mortar shops from having to compete with Amazon by preventing the e-commerce giant from offering virtually free delivery for book purchases.
“The three euro rate, commonly applied for the delivery of other products, does not appear to be a deterrent for buyers, and the €35 threshold encourages the grouping of orders, a virtuous gesture in terms of ecological transition,” the ministers of economy and culture said in a statement.
The French government will draft an executive order to codify the threshold and notify the text to the European Commission. It will become applicable once Brussels provides feedback. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
