France files complaint against Amazon for abuse of dominant position: article

PARIS (Reuters) – The French government has filed a complaint with the Paris Commercial Court against e-commerce company Amazon for abusing its dominant position over some suppliers, Le Parsien newspaper reported on Monday.

The newspaper reported that, based on the complaint, which is the result of a two-year investigation by the DGCCRF, a consumer fraud watchdog, the Economy Ministry is seeking a fine of 10 million euros ($11.8 million) against Amazon.

“The platform imposes an unequal relationship on its suppliers,” DGCCRF representative Loic Tanguy told Le Parisien.

Amazon, for example, can unilaterally change the terms of contracts, or even suspend them, with more than 10,000 French companies that use its platform to sell their goods, the newspaper reported.

An Economy Ministry official confirmed that a complaint had been filed against Amazon, but did not provide further details.

An Amazon spokesman said the company does not comment on legal proceedings.

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(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Gilles Guillaume; editing by Jason Neely)