French Insights
The most important French decisions and news in competition law now accessible in English
Strict interpretation of commitments: The Paris Court of Appeal overturns the decision of the French Competition Authority condemning PMU for non-compliance with its commitments
Resume: Insisting on the need to precisely define the commitments in light of the competition concerns identified, the Paris Court of Appeal has, for the first time, overturned in its entirety a decision of the French Competition Authority which had condemned the...
Exclusionary practices in a liberalized market: the European Court of Justice gives a new interpretation of the application of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
Resume: With each decision, the Court refines its interpretation of the application of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This decision was the occasion for the Court to provide a developed interpretation of an abuse in a liberalized...
Abuse of dominant position: the use by a company of his historical position to create confusion at the benefice of his subsidiary
Resume: The French Competition Authority condemned the company Audiens Santé Prévoyance (hereafter Audiens SP) for abuse of dominance in the sector of collective supplementary social protection for entertainment workers, by reaffirming that for a company in a dominant...
The authorization from the French Competitive Authority of the exclusive control of the group Stokomani by the Zouari family, already owner of many specialized stores
Resume: French Competition Authority decides on the legality of the Stokomani group’s (specialized in discount retail products and decoration) acquisition by the Zouari family, already possessing market power in the same field. The point is to reveal if such a merge...
Abuse of a dominant position: tying in the air freight transport of live animals sector to French Polynesia
Resume: By a decision ruled on February 15th, 2022, the French Competition Authority fines the French company Goldenway International pets (GIP), a company specialized in pet transportation, for abuse of a dominant position on tying in the air freight transport of...
The Paris Court of Appeal adopts a strict interpretation of the locus standi and rejects La Poste’s ancillary intervention
Resume: Following the rejection of its complaint to the French Competition Authority, Adrexo filed an appeal to the Paris Court of Appeal for the decision of the Authority to be cancelled. La Poste, which was the alleged author of the practices denounced in the...
The importance of demonstrating a lack of cost impact on the consumer in the event of a claim for compensation in the context of an anti-competitive practice
Resume: By a decision ruled on December 18, 2014, the French Competition Authority fines a company for its participation in an anti-competitive cartel in the personal hygiene products sector. The judgment, ruled on January 5, 2022 by the 5th Chamber of the Appeal...
The French Competition Authority sanctions EDF and its subsidiaries for abuse of a dominant position implying data use they detained from its historical operator position on the electricity market
Resume: In a decision rendered on February 22nd, 2022 (Decision No. 22-D-06), the French Competition Authority fined EDF and its subsidiaries €300 million for abuse of a dominant position as they used data files concerning customers thanks to EDF historical operator...
Conflict on the reallocation of the football Ligue 1’s TV rights: the French Competition Authority rejects Canal + complaint against the LFP
Resume: The dispute between the LFP and Canal+ over the reallocation of Ligue 1’s television rights continues to be a topic of discussion. In this decision issued on 30 June 2022, The Paris Court of Appeal confirms the rejection by the French Competition Authority of...
The pharmaceutical market and its protection against anti-competitive practices: the question of the link between the specificity of the market and the jurisdiction of the Competition Authority
Resume: The French Court of cassation condemned the company Janssen-Cilag for abuse of dominance in the pharmaceutical sector, by confirming that the Competition Authority could appreciate the legal frame of a specified activity sector, and added that condemning the...
Double eagle for Duval group
Resume: On May 19th 2022, the “Duval group” notified the competition authority its plan to acquire the Blue Green group. Duval and Blue Green are two operators specialised in the operation of golf courses and online course reservation platforms. The authority...
The Tribunal of the European Union sustains the Commission in the Illumina and Grail case thanks to a lengthy review of the article 22 of the Merger Regulation
Resume: The killer acquisition issue has reached a peak with Facebook-Whatsapp and Apple-Shazam Cases. As a result, thanks to a statement of the competition Commissionner Ms Margrethe VESTAGER, enshrined by a communication from the Commission, a change of doctrine in...
The French Competition Authority fines 3 laboratories for abusive efforts to segment the market
Resume: In a decision dated September 9, 2020 (Decision No. 20-D-11 of September 9, 2021 concerning practices implemented in the age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treatment sector), the French Competition Authority imposed a fine of € 444 million on Genentech,...
The new merger control guidelines: between evolution and clarification, the modernization of procedure and substance
Resume: On July 23, 2020, the French Competition Authority published new guidelines for merger control. The previous ones were dated July 10, 2013, therefore, the evolution of the practice may have shown that it was necessary to make a common guide for the management...
Google sanctioned by the French Competition Authority for abuse of dominant position in its self-preferencing on the online advertising market
Resume: On June 7th, 2021, Google was fined €220 million by the French competition authority for abuse of dominance in antitrust on the market for advertising servers for online publishers and mobile applications, in violation of articles L. 420-2 of the French...