Eric Piermont, AFP | An Amazon Prime Now employee at the company’s warehouse in Paris on June 9 2016

Amazon launched its Prime Now service in Paris last week, which will offer 4,000 food and household items for delivery within two hours. But Mayor Anne Hidalgo says the service threatens to “seriously destabilise” the profits of local businesses.

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Prime Now began deliveries in Paris last Thursday, evoking the ire of the mayor’s office – which accused Amazon of failing to provide notice of its intention to launch the service.

“Although this operation is likely to seriously destabilise the balance of Parisian businesses, this major American company did not see fit to approach the City of Paris until just a few days before its launch,” Hidalgo’s office said in a statement made available on Sunday.

The new service promises free, two-hour delivery of everyday household items and essentials to Amazon’s Premium members, who already pay an annual subscription fee of €49, as well as one-hour delivery for an additional €5.90.

With 18,000 products – including 4,000 food items, ranging from fresh produce to frozen meals – to choose from, Amazon hopes that Prime Now will be a hit in Paris. Yet in a city where many still do their daily shopping at a neighbourhood butcher or baker, the mayor’s office fears the instant delivery service will hurt these local businesses.

Hidalgo called on Amazon to “guarantee that its approach fully respects local Parisian businesses and takes into account the absolute necessity of preserving their diversity”.

“[The City of Paris] will also call on lawmakers to define legal safeguards to prevent such services from constituting unfair competition for businesses and artisans,” the mayor said.

An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by FRANCE 24.

‘We are experiencing an economic earthquake’

But for some, Hidalgo’s statement came as too little too late. Jean-Luc Gosse, co-president of the French Federation of Business Associations (Fédération Française des Associations Commerçants), blamed politicians for failing to foresee the advent of Prime Now.

“It’s not Amazon’s fault, it’s the fault of politicians who didn’t know to anticipate this sort of thing,” he told FRANCE 24.

Although new to Paris, Prime Now was first launched in New York City in December 2014. Since then it has expanded to 26 other major US cities, as well as London and Rome.

Gosse said that part of the reason why Prime Now poses such a threat to local businesses is because it creates unfair competition.

“It doesn’t represent the same cost. Local businesses are constrained by location, while Amazon and other sites are free of such legal regulations and constraints,” he said. “We are small businesses with ties to the local community, which are now being threatened by this sort of service … It’s dangerous.”

Gosse also warned that local businesses won’t be the only ones to suffer if nothing is done to keep Prime Now or similar services in check.

“We’re in the process of weakening the country’s socio-economic model … The first job for nearly one in two young people is working in retail – it’s an opportunity to integrate into society. That’s another thing Amazon is threatening,” he said.

“It’s serious – we’re experiencing an economic earthquake.”

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