French lawmakers moved closer to
approving a bill aimed at protecting local bookstores against competition from
Amazon, the latest step by European governments and regulators to try to rein
in what they see as the growing power of a group of largely American tech
companies. The bill, approved unanimously by France’s lower house of
parliament, would effectively force online booksellers to sell at higher prices
than brick-and-mortar stores, by banning any seller from applying government-regulated
discounts to the cover prices of books that are shipped to readers. Instead,
sellers could only mark down the cost of shipping. The proposed law, which
now heads to France’s senate with the backing of both major parties, is
explicitly aimed at Amazon, which frequently discounts books and ships them
free of charge to French buyers—a deal independent booksellers say amounts to
unfair competition.
