The bookstore syndicate's press release is addressed to the Renaudot Prize jury. They are explicitly trying to convince the jury to not vote for Koskas' book, n

The bookstore syndicate's press release is addressed to the Renaudot Prize jury. They are explicitly trying to convince the jury to not vote for Koskas' book, not because of its literary merits (or lack thereof), but just because it is published by Amazon. After Koskas was passed over by publishers and so took the reasonable step of self-publishing, the bookstores are now trying to throw him under the bus, blatantly in the pursuit of their own self-interest, because the Renaudot Prize winner will likely sell well, so they don't want a book they can't sell to win.