Anti-Amazon bill approved in France

A bill to support independent bookstores against competition from online retailers has been approved in France.

The new laws will restrict companies like Amazon from combining offers of 5% discounts with free deliveries.

France’s 3,000 independent bookshops have complained that they can’t compete with the cut-price offers online.

The new laws will restrict companies like Amazon from combining offers of 5 percent discounts with free deliveries

The opposition right-wing party UMP proposed the bill, but it also has the support of the left.

It has been approved by the lower house and will now be sent to the Senate.

French Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti has criticized Amazon’s practices in the past, particularly free deliveries or its policy of “tax optimization.”

Amazon insists the arrangement is legal under the European Union’s single market rules.

In June, Aurelie Filippetti said: “Today, everyone has had enough of Amazon, which, by dumping, slashes prices to get a foothold in markets only to raise them once they have established a virtual monopoly.”

France is known for being proud of its local stores, considering them essential to bring culture to small villages.