France is taking Google and Apple to court over “abusive” app store practices and also wants to be able to tax tech giants in Europe beginning in 2019, the country’s finance minister said.

Bruno Le Maire told radio station RTL it was “unacceptable” that developers must pay Apple and Google a fee for selling their apps on their stores and the companies “can unilaterally rewrite” developer contracts.

“They can’t treat our startups and developers the way they do,” he said, adding he will take the companies to the Paris commercial court where resulting fines could amount to million of euros.

He also said France expects the European Union to close loopholes allowing technology companies including Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook to avoid paying taxes.

France sued Google in 2016, demanding $1.7 billion in back taxes, but a French court ruled in favour of Google.

In September 2017 le Maire, along with the finance ministers of Italy, Spain and Germany, signed a letter calling for the EU to calculate technology companies’ tax based on revenue instead of profits – as is currently the case.

The politicians sought an end to current practices whereby overseas tech giants typically register tax through countries where rates are lower, and called for a system which would see the companies taxed at levels closer to each country’s own corporate tax rates.