Amazon will pay the equivalent of $1,500 per day in fines and continue to offer free shipping in France in defiance of a recently imposed court order. The high-minded and socialist-leaning French government passed the 1981 Lang law, which prevents selling books at a discount, to protect small booksellers from the predation of discount supermarkets. How visionary those legislators were to anticipate the coming of Amazon. Hoping to overturn the law, Bezos is trying to muster the support of French cheap-book lovers. But Amazon is unlikely to prevail even with the people's support. The High Court of Versailles is unlikely to appreciate the online book retailer's sense of revolution. Off with their savings!

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