French Insights
The most important French decisions and news in competition law now accessible in English
Google fined for an abuse of dominance in the online search advertising market!
Resume: In the decision n°19-D-26 of December 19th, 2019, the French Competition Authority fined Google because of its non-transparent, discriminatory and inequitable general conditions seen as an abuse of its dominant position on the online search advertising market....
Contribution of the French Competition Authority to the climate change issues
Resume: Alongside nine independent administrative institutions, the French Competition Authority has published a working paper on its role in the fight against global warming. The authority presented the tools it has at its disposal to assist economic players in...
Denial of access to an essential facility: the French Competition Authority dismisses the complaint of the Association of Alternative Operators (AOTA) against the practices implemented by Orange in the electronic communications sector
Summary: In decision 20-D-02 from January 23, 2020, the French Competition Authority (FCA) dismisses the referral on the merits of the case by the Association des Opérateurs Télécoms Alternatifs (AOTA) for lack of evidence and, therefore, the request for protective...
The French Competition Authority blocked a merger for the very first time!
Resume: A very first! Last summer, the French Competition Authority (FCA) blocked a merger for the first time since its creation in 2009. The operation showed a risk of coordinated effects that would have harmed competition by creating a duopoly. Neither the...
The French Competition Authority fines Apple a record of €1.1 billion: a renewed use of abuse of economic dependence
Summary: In the Apple decision number 20-D-04 of March 16th, 2020, the French Competition Authority fined Apple a record fine of €1.1 billion after finding that it had infringed competition law by practicing resale price maintenance and division of products and...
Exposure of Google’s business secrecy in a French Competition Authority’s decision: who has jurisdiction?
Summary: A decision of the Tribunal des conflits involving Google gathers the business secrecy litigation in antitrust procedures under the jurisdiction of the sole judiciary order. The case creates an occasion to present the way the French Competition...
Price-fixing agreement in the online sale of high-end tea: the French Competition Authority fines Dammann Frères
Summary: Hot tea! In decision 20-D-20 from December 3rd, 2020, the French Competition Authority found Dammann Frères guilty of price-fixing practices in the online resale of its products by distributors. In the same decision, the Authority also rejected the complaint...
The French Cour de cassation states that the Polynesian Competition Authority is a jurisdiction
Resume: Is the Polynesian Competition Authority a jurisdiction? This is the question that the French Cour de cassation had to answer. In case n° 19-13.775, on 4 June 2020, the Cour de cassation held that the Polynesian Competition Authority is a judicial Authority. To...
The French report on Digital Platforms: The birth of an ex ante regulation
To quote this paper: Tom Drivot, “The French report on Digital Platforms: the birth of an ex ante regulation”, Competition Forum - French Insights, 2020, art. n° 0001, https://www.competition-forum.com/ " Online platforms have taken a central place in our lives, our...