Closure of small businesses: when politicians attack Amazon

The political class not ready to convert to an Amazon Prime subscription.

Since the closure of small businesses, the American online sales firm, long criticized for its tax evasion practices, had never been so talked about.

Her boss, Jeff Bezos?

A "hectomillionaire who crams", said again this Thursday morning on the radio the deputy LFI François Ruffin.

A formula which is reminiscent of that of Roselyne Bachelot who, on November 2, exclaimed: "Amazon is stuffing itself, but it's up to us not to stuff it!"

"

The Minister of Culture then clearly called not to buy books on digital platforms.

"It shouldn't be Amazon, to put it simply, which is the big winner of this crisis to the detriment of local shops or even supermarkets," Bruno Le Maire declared on BFMTV on November 1.

The same day, Jean Castex invited the French on TF1 to "delay or postpone [purchases], rather than order, on a large foreign site, products by Internet".

There is no longer even need to quote the Seattle giant as the brand looks like a scarecrow ...

Tribune, online petition ...

From forums to petitions, from rebels to environmentalists and socialists, the left is also sounding the alarm.

There is "an urgent need to stop the expansion of the e-commerce giant", affirm, in a column published by France Info, several leaders of political parties, including the leader of LFI Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the national secretary of the PCF Fabien Roussel, the boss of EELV Julien Bayou, or mayors like those (EELV) of Grenoble and Besançon Eric Piolle and Anne Vignot.

They are asking for an exceptional tax on Amazon's turnover.

Other elected officials have just launched a petition for a “Christmas without Amazon”.

Among them, deputies like Delphine Batho or Matthieu Orphelin (ex-LREM) or mayors like, that (PS) of Paris Anne Hidalgo, or the president (PS) of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga.

It is necessary to introduce "an exceptional tax on GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft) which allows to go to fund a solidarity fund in favor of those who are forced to close today", insists Olivier Faure, the n ° 1 of the PS.

The right, very upbeat against the closure of local shops, is not left out.

"Amazon is the absolute and almost perfect symbol of what financial and uncontrolled globalism leads to: a society of immediate profit and hyper-consumerism", attacked Guillaume Peltier.

LR number 2 will table a motion for a resolution in the National Assembly in favor of a “unitary tax” on GAFAMs which would allow tax to be calculated from their worldwide profits.

He suggests donating the proceeds to a small business support fund.

An idea also defended by… the anti-globalization association Attac.

"Amazon is also jobs in France"

Laurent Wauquiez, for his part, wants to create a “100% Amazon Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes” to help traders in the region he presides, when the MEP (LR) Geoffroy Didier proposes to refuse the installation of new Amazon warehouses in France if the firm refused to cancel the BlackFriday scheduled for November 27.

“Amazon doesn't pay enough taxes in France, that's a subject.

But it is not Amazon that is responsible for the crisis of small traders.

Those responsible, it is the government which decided to close them, ”nuance Damien Abad.

The boss of LR deputies accuses the executive of having targeted the American firm to "deflect criticism" on its own action.

"Amazon is also jobs in France", he observes, echoing his colleague (LR) from Belfort Ian Boucard, whose territory could benefit from the installation of a logistics platform.

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Anti-Amazon music now annoys Bercy.

"Taxing e-commerce is penalizing French players and their jobs: Cdiscount, Fnac-Darty, Leclerc ... The right solution is to encourage digitization", argued Bruno Le Maire on Sunday in the JDD.

The minister no longer wants to "take Amazon as a scapegoat".

“We still have a problem with modernity that frightens some people.

It's like the days when we were outraged against steam trains, then after electric trains.

Amazon is there, it exists, and Bercy's role is not to say that we are against this or that company.

We are first there for economic regulation, ”insists those around him.

“Politicians criticize.

But who has never used Amazon?

»Asks Damien Abad ironically.