The overall supervisor of Amazon France, Frédéric Duval, was auditioned Wednesday on the Nationwide Meeting. Confronted with pugnacious deputies, who notably criticized his firm for not paying its justifiable share of taxes in France, he defended Amazon, which in line with him “contributed to nationwide solidarity” throughout the Covid-19 disaster.
A demining operation. On Wednesday, the overall supervisor of Amazon France, Frédéric Duval, responded for 2 hours to the arrests of deputies of the Committee on Financial Affairs.
Auditioned by videoconference, the French boss of the e-commerce large has lengthy defended his firm, which has “completely no vocation to switch French merchants”.
In line with Frédéric Duval, Amazon is “criticized and attacked on the idea of unfounded info”. “Since 2010, we have now invested 9.2 billion euros in France,” insisted the CEO, who added that his group was creating 130,000 direct and oblique jobs within the area.
“Job insecurity”
These figures have been disputed by the deputies: “A job created at Amazon results in the elimination of two jobs within the conventional commerce”, reacted David Corceiro (MoDem), citing the report of the previous secretary of state answerable for digital Mounir Mahjoubi.
The elected MoDem additionally accused the multinational of “making precarious employment its fundamental foundation for revenue”. A questioning which joins the issues relayed by the deputy Annaïg Le Meur (La République en Marche), who recalled that Amazon is “recurrently singled out for its practices by way of tax exemption or contentious working circumstances”.
A number of criticisms
So many criticisms that be a part of the latest initiatives of parliamentarians who want to restrict the event of Amazon in France. In November, Matthieu Orphelin (not registered) and François Ruffin (La France insoumise) launched a petition advocating a boycott of Amazon on the event of the vacation season.
As well as, Communist, Socialist and La France insoumise deputies requested in a Tribune the introduction of an distinctive tax “on the turnover of Amazon and different profiteers of the well being disaster”.
This initiative has been translated right into a Law proposition introduced originally of December by the deputies of the Democratic and Republican Left group. The textual content additionally desires to pressure the GAFAM to “pay taxes on the idea of the actions that they really perform in France”.
And shortly, rebellious France will present a text “for a moratorium on warehouses and a solidarity tax” concentrating on Amazon.
A French institution
Frédéric Duval who had foreseen that his firm could be questioned by the deputies had ready his protection. “Amazon has been in France for over 20 years,” he stated, including that “hundreds of thousands of French folks belief [son entreprise]”.
Practically 11,000 French retailers promote their merchandise on the e-commerce platform: “Amazon’s success is just not constructed towards French firms however with them”, argued Frédéric Duval. He additionally tried to place the load of his firm into perspective by indicating that its turnover in 2019 was 5.7 billion euros, or “about 1% of retail commerce in France”.
Outcomes which nonetheless earned him congratulations from the deputy Laure de La Raudière (Agir ensemble), who “praised the efficiency of Amazon”, which “gives many providers to residents”.
CDI “relatively nicely paid”
As well as, Amazon has, in line with Frédéric Duval, “contributed to nationwide solidarity” throughout the Covid-19 disaster: the corporate “offered Public Well being France with 5 million FFP2 masks”, “supplied a poster marketing campaign on Web of four million euros “and even” donates 2.5 million euros to the Purple Cross.
Desirous to show his good religion, the overall supervisor of Amazon recalled “not having hesitated” to postpone “Black Friday” by a week, on the request of the French authorities.
In line with the overall supervisor of Amazon France, his firm even benefited much less from the primary confinement than “the actors of the French giant distribution”: “In proportion, the site visitors which arrived on Amazon was much less.”
He additionally affirmed that the CDI supplied by Amazon are “relatively accurately paid” by evoking a “wage 25% above the minimal wage after two years”, the donation “of a free share per worker and per 12 months”, in addition to the existence of a thirteenth month.
“The wolf pretends to be the grandmother”
“I used to be considering whereas listening to the great previous little story of Little Purple Driving Hood wherein the wolf pretends to be the grandmother to eat the little woman”, reacted the unregistered MP Delphine Batho.
“You’ve gotten described your self as a benefactor of humanity”, additionally quipped Dominique Potier (Socialists). The elected consultant criticized Amazon, denouncing “VAT fraud by entrance firms that permit European regulation”. A “tax optimization” estimated by François Ruffin (La France insoumise) at one billion euros, a sum equal to “the development of a hospital”.
“We don’t use entrance firms,” replied Frédéric Duval. “Our firms are registered, completely authorized, in France, Luxembourg, these firms and their earnings statements can be found on-line”, defined the CEO, who denies any “tax optimization”.
“The profitability of the Amazon firm as a proportion of its turnover is insignificant, it’s round 5%,” added the boss of Amazon France.
The Amazon firm is just not very worthwhile and due to this fact pays little tax on the income however lots by its common institution. Frédéric Duval
“It is fuck-up”
“Amazon’s complete contribution to public providers in France is 420 million euros,” defined Frédéric Duval. A determine contested by Matthieu Orphelin: “This presentation is deceptive, you recognize, you add all the pieces in there”, lamented the elected, who considers “scandalous” Amazon’s refusal to current detailed figures.
“It is a joke,” even declared Mounir Mahjoubi (La République en Marche), who didn’t hesitate to interrupt the overall supervisor of Amazon France.
“It is at all times simple to talk in poor health of Amazon and on the identical time promote your books there”, for his half tempered Damien Adam (The Republic on the transfer). The elected official, nonetheless, requested Frédéric Duval to behave extra “for the ecological transition”, particularly by modifying its supply phrases.
Taxe Gafa
Frédéric Duval additionally declared that his group wouldn’t rethink its choice to go on to the merchants who use its website the quantity of “taxa Gafa“voted by Parliament.
“We make little or no revenue in France, consequently we can not bear this tax with out redistributing it on our third-party retailers,” defined the overall supervisor of Amazon.
