France-The government sets at 3EUR minimum the shipping costs of books


PARIS, September 23 (Reuters) – The French government has set at least three euros, all taxes included, the shipping cost of books for all orders below 35 euros, can we read Friday in a joint press release from the ministers of Finance and Culture.

This decision stems from the law of December 30, 2021 aimed at protecting independent bookstores, which are still numerous in France, against the gloves of e-commerce.

Since 2014, shipping costs could not be free but Amazon, followed by other groups such as Fnac, limited them to 0.01 euro.

The price of 3.00 euros is the result of negotiations between these two ministers and the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and Press Distribution (Arcep).

“Arcep’s proposal strikes a balance between achieving the objective set by the legislator and preserving the book market,” read the press release from Bruno Le Maire and Rima Abdul-Malak.

“The price of 3 euros, commonly applied for the delivery of other products, does not appear to be a deterrent for buyers and the threshold of 35 euros favors the grouping of orders, a virtuous gesture in terms of ecological transition”, add the ministers. (Report Elizabeth Pineau, written by Jean-Stphane Brosse, told by Sophie Louet)



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