Amazon Challenges France’s Book Delivery Fee at EU Court

Amazon has taken aim at a book delivery fee imposed by France, arguing before Europe’s top court on Thursday that the measure is discriminatory, protectionist, and violates European Union laws, according to Reuters. The U.S. e-commerce giant contends that the regulation unfairly targets online retailers while favoring brick-and-mortar bookstores and large retail chains.

The fee, introduced by France in October 2023, requires customers to pay an additional three euros ($3.31) for book deliveries, a move intended to support independent bookstores against Amazon’s dominance. Previously, Amazon had only charged a nominal one-cent delivery fee for books in France. The measure, however, does not apply to orders exceeding 35 euros. Amazon challenged the fee in France’s highest administrative court, which subsequently sought guidance from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), per Reuters.

During the hearing at the CJEU, Amazon’s legal representative, Yann Utzschneider, criticized the policy as an economic intervention aimed at protecting traditional retailers. “This is an economic measure by a member state for the protection of its bricks and mortar retailers. It is a discriminatory measure which only benefits retailers with a physical presence in France,” Utzschneider argued before the court. He further described the fee as a “protectionist measure in complete breach of EU laws.”

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According to Reuters, Amazon contends that the regulation disproportionately benefits large retailers like FNAC and hypermarkets such as Carrefour, where customers can avoid the fee by picking up their purchases in-store. Utzschneider claimed the measure violates the EU’s e-commerce directive, which governs online sales and ensures a unified digital market across the 27-member bloc. “France can’t be allowed to carve up the single market to suit their own national interests,” he stated.

In defense of the fee, France maintains that large online retailers like Amazon enjoy an unfair advantage over smaller competitors due to their ability to offer significantly lower delivery costs. “The major retailers are using their delivery methods as a way of creating a new type of competition on the book market,” said Brice Fodda, a legal representative for the French government. He emphasized that such companies leverage their scale to provide delivery services at little to no cost, putting independent bookstores at a disadvantage.

Source: Reuters