Report from Reuters
In Brief – France’s highest administrative court, the State Council, has rejected Amazon’s appeal against the country’s minimum shipping fee for books, upholding a €3 delivery charge on book orders under €35 imposed by the French Government in 2023. The fee was instituted to protect independent bookstores from competition with online retailers such as Amazon, which had long offered ultra-low-cost shipping. The French court ruled that the policy is compatible with EU law and was justified by the public-interest goal of protecting cultural diversity and pluralism because bookstores play an essential role in promoting a broad range of published works and supporting cultural life across France. Amazon criticized the decision, arguing the fee harms consumers during a cost-of-living crisis, reduces access to books for people without nearby bookstores, and benefits large retail chains more than independent sellers.
Context – Last December, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rejected the French Government’s argument that the €3 fee should be assessed under the EU Services Directive, applying the EU’s stricter rules allowing for the free-movement-of-goods because the measure increased the final price consumers pay for books, and could disadvantage cross-border distance sellers and impede trade within the EU single market. However, the ECJ sent the case back to the French State Council for further review under the new standard that was more protective of ecommerce. The French court still justified the shipping fee on the grounds of protecting French ‘cultural diversity’, a result that highlights the ‘fragmentation’ Enrico Letta warned against in his landmark 2024 report. Letta’s call to prevent national laws in the EU from hindering the flow of intellectual goods includes ecommerce. But European national courts can still utilize cultural exceptions as a legal mechanism to maintain market barriers. In France, this ecommerce stance aligns with the recent statement of the Minister of Small and Medium Businesses that online retail platforms will face a “year of resistance” from storefront retailers and their backers in the government.