Well, they were sued for providing maps for free: http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2012/02/02/french_judge_says_free_google_maps_are_anticompetitive_a

Well, they were sued for providing maps for free: http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2012/02/02/french_judge_says_free_google_maps_are_anticompetitive_and_illegal http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2012/02/02/french_... I don't quite understand why they are charging as much as they are (pretty much unaffordable for a low margin, high traffic business), but it does seem like the free ride had to end.