"A small Atlantic island can force multinationals to bend": Oléron leads the revolt against Airbnb and Booking.com

Three legal battles, three David versus Goliath victories. The latest was announced on Monday, August 4, by the Community of Municipalities of the Island of Oléron (CDCIO), the winner of its lawsuit against Leboncoin. Among its dozens of classified ad services, the French company connects homeowners and vacationers, with online payments, just like Airbnb or Booking.com. In its decision handed down on July 29, which Libération was able to consult, the La Rochelle judicial court ordered Leboncoin to pay a total of €410,000 to the CDCIO for non-application of the tourist tax during the summers of 2020, 2021, and 2022.

At a rate of a few euros per night, the 384 stays in question represented a dispute of 22,000 euros between the two parties. Leboncoin invoked the right to make a mistake. The court rejected this argument. "We take note of the decision of the La Rochelle judicial court, even if the fines imposed seem clearly disproportionate to us in light of the facts," Leboncoin responded to Libération. Regarding a possible appeal, "no decision has been made."