French Fine Amazon for Free Shipping

strech writes: Arstechnica reports that France is fining Amazon for offering free shipping on some orders. A French high court ruled in December that the practice violated a law preventing discounting the price of a book more than 5% off of the publisher's recommended price. Amazon has decided to pay the fine, rather than drop free shipping. The fine currently stands at 1000 € per day but is automatically reconsidered after 30 days, after which it could be raised dramatically.