rogerd - 4:13 pm on Jan 16, 2008 (gmt 0)

Good for Amazon. Not to single out France - every country seems to have bureaucrats who want to make decisions on behalf of their citizens that run contrary to the interests of those citizens.

It is ludicrous to suggest that consumers have fewer book choices because Amazon offers free shipping. Amazon has expanded the choices of book buyers by orders of magnitude - not only do they offer every book in print, they have facilitated a market for used and out of print books, and are now offering self-publishing options for new books that haven't found a traditional publisher. The even offer browsing options on many titles.

Small booksellers bring nothing unique except, occasionally, a knowledgeable bookseller who can make intelligent recommendations in some topical areas. Oops, I forgot, Amazon has a zillion customer reviews and a recommendation engine that is uncannily accurate whether I'm browsing legal thrillers, coding guides, or cognitive science texts.

Governments seem to insist on trying to preserve the old way of doing things in the face of better business models. The US tried decades ago when small mom and pop grocery stores were threatened by supermarkets. The superior business model eventually won, as it always does, but in the meantime consumers paid the price. Japan's arcane retail regulations delayed high volume discounters for years. Language police in Quebec restrict the signage that can be used despite the bilingual nature of its citizens. And just about every country seems dedicated to protecting inefficient small farmers.

Just as cream rises to the top, businesses that provide better service and lower prices win in the long run. It's too bad that governments don't strive to accelerate the process instead of acting as speedbumps.