Amazon ends free delivery of new books to automated lockers in France following Darcos law dispute
The online retailer will restrict free new-book collection to in-store retail counters across France after the Conseil d'État upheld a 3-euro minimum shipping fee under the Darcos law.
End of free locker delivery
On 19 September 2026, Amazon announced to Agence France-Presse that it will no longer provide free delivery of new books to its automated lockers located in France. The e-commerce company confirmed that fee-free delivery for new book orders will henceforth be concentrated exclusively at customer counters and reception desks located inside retail businesses that sell books. The policy change confirms information initially reported by the French newspaper Le Figaro. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed that the exclusion of automated locker units from free book shipments is actively underway.
We have decided, for new books, to concentrate free delivery on counter pickup points and store receptions, and to exclude automated lockers.
Dispute over the Darcos law
The change addresses ongoing tensions between the online retailer and the French bookselling industry surrounding the legal interpretation of a 2023 ministerial order. Introduced under the framework of the Darcos law, the order took effect in October 2023 and imposed a compulsory minimum shipping fee of 3 euros on every delivery of new books. The regulatory framework provides a single explicit exemption, allowing zero-fee delivery only when the book is collected inside a retail shop that sells books. Amazon France argued that placing automated lockers in commercial venues permitted free collection under the retail exemption clause. By contrast, domestic bookseller trade representatives and the French Book Mediator, an independent public authority, maintained that using unmanned automated lockers was a practice that circumvented the law.
- A ministerial order under the Darcos law introduces a 3-euro minimum delivery fee on new books
- The French Book Mediator estimates lockers represent at least one third of Amazon free pickup points
- The Conseil d'État rules that France's 3-euro minimum book shipping fee complies with EU law
- Amazon confirms the phase-out of free new-book delivery to automated lockers in France
Pickup network and coverage
Amazon stated to Agence France-Presse that the transition to remove automated lockers from free book delivery is already in progress. The company stated that automated lockers constitute a minority share of its approximately 3,000 eligible pickup points across France, although it did not supply exact numerical counts for either category. That proportion differs from a 2025 finding from the French Book Mediator, which estimated that automated lockers represented at least one third of the thousands of free collection points serving Amazon deliveries. Despite removing the locker option, an Amazon spokesperson asserted that the practical coverage area for customers will remain comparable. The company stated that shoppers will continue to have access to a large physical pickup network, with the majority of participating locations situated across rural communes and smaller towns.
Conseil d'État decision
The exclusion of automated lockers arrives four months after Amazon suffered a legal setback before France's highest administrative court. The platform had previously brought a formal legal challenge before the Conseil d'État in an attempt to annul the 2023 ministerial order establishing the 3-euro delivery rule. In a ruling issued on 13 May 2026, the Conseil d'État dismissed the company's claims and determined that the government's minimum shipping fee for new books is fully compliant with European Union law. The court's decision validated the legal basis of the Darcos decree, culminating in Amazon's formal compliance step to eliminate free delivery of new books to its automated locker network.
