The 5.5% rate applies, beyond books, to a bunch of other things which are hardly first necessity: e.g., theater, cinema, the importation of works of art and ant

The 5.5% rate applies, beyond books, to a bunch of other things which are hardly first necessity: e.g., theater, cinema, the importation of works of art and antiques. http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle.do?idArticle=LEGIARTI000028416983&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006069577&dateTexte=20140101&oldAction=rechCodeArticle http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle.do?idArticle... The Wikipedia article you mention refers to the 5.5% rate as "common consumption, first necessity, or to favor certain sectors. I would think that books would rather fall in that last category.