Amazon has withdrawn from the Paris book festival after a boycott by France's booksellers' association prompted a dispute over the company's sponsorship of the event. The festival, scheduled for 17-19 April, will now proceed without the backing of the US retail company, following a mutual decision by organisers and Amazon to end their partnership.
The dispute began when the Syndicat de la Librairie Française (SLF), the French booksellers' association, announced it would boycott the festival in protest at Amazon's involvement. The SLF has been sharply critical of Amazon, arguing that it destabilises the book trade. In a statement, it accused the company of seeking "to flood the market with fake AI-generated books, promoted by fake reviews, written by fake readers and rising to the top of fake rankings". It also criticised the publishers' association and festival organisers for what it described as an "irresponsible" decision to collaborate with Amazon, taken in the name of short-term financial interests.
An Amazon spokesperson responded: "We are deeply disappointed by this partisan manoeuvre by the SLF. Building on ungrounded and misleading claims, it hijacks the event for its own benefit and diverts it from its legitimate ambition – namely the celebration of reading, readers and authors." Amazon said it had decided to withdraw to "avoid contributing to this absurd controversy".
The festival's organisers, Paris Livres Événements, a subsidiary of France's publishers' association, said the collaboration had been ended due to "hostility to Amazon's presence as a sponsor". They explained that the move was designed to avert "serious disruption" and safeguard the interests of the 450 exhibitors and estimated 120,000 visitors.
The organisers added that their aim was to "ease tensions" and allow the festival to be held in a "peaceful atmosphere", stating that "no one would benefit from jeopardising it". The festival is expected to proceed as planned in April without the retailer's presence.
