France moves to shield its book industry from Amazon

Sophie Fornairon, owner of "La Librairie du Canal" bookstore, poses during an interview with Reuters in her bookshop in Paris, as French lawmakers voted a draft bill aiming at stopping Amazon from offering free delivery for books and at protecting traditional bookshops from competition, France, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

PARIS (Reuters) - Sophie Fornairon's independent bookshop has survived the rise of Amazon thanks to a French law that prohibits price discounting on new books, but she says the e-commerce giant's ability to undercut on shipping still skews the market against stores like hers.

Fornairon, who owns the Canal Bookstore in central Paris, now hopes that new legislation that would set a minimum price for book deliveries will even the contest further in the battle of neighbourhood stores against Amazon.