<p>The French Senate has voted for price fixing on e-books, with the new law also banning libraries from offering e-books as soon as they are released.</p><p>E-books had been exempt from France&#39;s 1981 Lang law that stopped the sale of books for less than 5% below cover price.</p><p>Publishing Perspectives reports that Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Mitterrand, French minister for culture and communication, hailed the passing of the law. </p><p>However, French publishing website Actualitt&eacute; slammed it as a &quot;catastrophe&quot; because of its protectionist nature. It also criticised the law&#39;s stipulation that libraries cannot offer e-books for<br />lending at the time they go on sale.<br /><br /></p>