PARIS: Pressures faced by Amazon's staff in France are unacceptable, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on March 19, after unions said workers faced non-payment if they stopped due to fears over the coronavirus outbreak.

Several hundred employees protested in France on March 18, calling on the US e-commerce giant to halt operations or make it easier for employees to stay away during the epidemic.

"These pressures are unacceptable, we'll let Amazon know," Le Maire told France Inter radio station, when asked to comment on Amazon's attitude toward its workers.

Retailers across France were ordered shut over the past weekend in measures to control the disease, with only stores providing food and other basic goods or services allowed to operate.

Online deliveries are still allowed, however.

At an Amazon warehouse and shipping centre at Saran just outside Orleans, a city south of Paris, some 250-300 workers started protests this week, gathering outside and calling for its closure.

Amazon representatives were not immediately available for comment on March 19. But in a statement on March 18 about operations in France, the company said it was adhering to all sanitary guidelines as it prioritised essential products such as household staples and hygiene and medical supplies.

One source close to Amazon said the company did not recognise the right for workers to walk out under current circumstances given it was strictly applying sanitary protocols.

 - Reuters