‘Deeply disappointed’: Amazon on cancelling Paris book festival sponsorship

Amazon has withdrawn its sponsorship from the upcoming Paris Book Festival. This comes after a dispute between the e-commerce giant and France’s booksellers’ association that led to a boycott of the event. The decision follows criticism from the Syndicat de la Librairie Française (SLF), which opposed the US-based company's involvement in the literary event.Responding to the criticism, Amazon said it was “deeply disappointed” by the boycott and accused the association of misrepresenting its role in the event. In a statement to The BookSeller, an Amazon spokesperson said, “We are deeply disappointed by this partisan manoeuvre by the SLF,” adding that the company decided to withdraw in order to “avoid contributing to this absurd controversy”.The festival, scheduled to take place from April 17 to April 19, will now proceed without Amazon’s backing after organisers and the company agreed to end their partnership. The controversy began when the SLF announced it would boycott the festival in protest of Amazon’s sponsorship.The SLF has criticised Amazon and has held the company responsible for disrupting the book trade. In a statement to The Bookseller, the association accused Amazon of seeking “to flood the market with fake AI-generated books, [which are] promoted by fake reviews, written by fake readers [and rise] 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, saying the move was driven by short-term financial interests.The organisers of the event, Paris Livres Événements, a subsidiary of France’s publishers’ association, said the partnership ended because of “hostility to Amazon’s presence as a sponsor”. They said the decision was intended to prevent “serious disruption” and protect the interests of the 450 exhibitors and an estimated 120,000 visitors.The organisers added that the goal was to “ease tensions” and allow the festival to take place in a “peaceful atmosphere”. “No one would benefit from jeopardising it,” they added. The festival is expected to proceed as scheduled in April without Amazon’s involvement.