French Insights
The most important French decisions and news in competition law now accessible in English
Cloud Computing : The French Competition Authority’s Extensive Analysis of Competition and Future Perspectives
Resume: On June 29, 2023, the French Competition Authority issued Opinion No. 23-A-07, examining competition dynamics in the cloud computing sector. The opinion highlights key market challenges and regulatory responses, assessing the adequacy of existing competition...
Luxottica and the Limits of Selective Distribution: An Analysis of the Paris Court of Appeal’s Judgment on Price Restrictions and Online Sales Prohibition
Resume: In a judgment dated September 15, 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld Decision No. 21-D-20 of the French Competition Authority, which had fined Luxottica for implementing two anticompetitive practices between 1999 and 2014. First, the Court confirmed that...
The conditional authorization of the acquisition of exclusive control of OCS and Orange Studio by Canal Plus Group
Resume: In decision no. 24-DCC-04 of January 12, 2024, the French Competition Authority authorized the acquisition of exclusive control of OCS and Orange Studio by Canal Plus Group. However, this authorization was subject to the implementation of certain procedural...
Generative AI under watch: The French Competition Authority’s perspective on future competitive challenges
Resume: On June 28, 2024, the French Competition Authority (ADLC) published an opinion (24-A-05) on the generative artificial intelligence (AI) sector, identifying significant competitive risks—including high entry barriers, potential market abuses, and structural...
The French Competition Authority carries out the first review of mergers below the national notification thresholds under cartel law
Resume: The French competition authority has dismissed a case of alleged geographical distribution of the rendering market between several companies, due to the lack of sufficient evidence to establish an anti-competitive agreement. The authority therefore applies...
A winery sanctioned by the French Competition Authority for imposing minimum resale prices on its distributors
Resume: A winery has been sanctioned by the French competition authority as the author with the parent company, for having implemented practices aimed at imposing a resale price on distributors of wines in the "Uby" range, marketed under the "Côtes de Gascogne"...
A clear ban on price-fixing practices in the wine sector – The solution of introducing a “price tunnel” clause
Resume: The French Competition Authority delivered a recent opinion (no. 24-A-01, March 12, 2024) on the question to know if a wine inter-branch organization could set the price of wine products, especially wine reserves. The authority argued that such a practice...
New Sanction Imposed by the French Competition Authority: €91.6 Million Fine on Rolex for Restrictive Online Sales Practices in a Selective Distribution System
Resume: Rolex France is fined (jointly with Rolex Holding SA, the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, and Rolex SA) to EUR 91.6 million, in a decision n°23-D-13 issued on December 19, 2023. The French Competition Authority (FCA) determined that the infringement by Rolex...
Online sales restrictions and anti-competitive practices within a distribution network: practices implemented in the luxury tea sector
Resume: In decision no. 23-D-12 of December 11, 2023, the French Competition Authority fined the Mariage Frères group 4 million euros. Mariage Frères was found guilty of anti-competitive cartel practices on the French premium tea market, for the period July 2008 to...
Authorization from the French Competition Authority for the acquisition of exclusive control in the predominantly food retail sector
Resume: In its decision 24-DCC-02 of January 11, 2024, the French Competition Authority granted Intermarché authorization to carry out a merger. The transaction involved the acquisition of 61 predominantly food retail outlets under the Casino Group banner. In fact, a...
The Competition Authority’s first enforcement of the new leniency procedure to the sale of access to databases on companies
Resume: In a recent decision, no. 23-D-04 dated April 12, 2023, the French Competition authority uses, for the first time, to fully exonerate a company guilty of price fixing and client allocation, the new leniency procedure stemming from Act no. 2020-1508 of December...
Anticompetitive practices and penalty calculation in franchise network: comparing online sales and professional clientele restrictions
Resume: In a recent decision (24-D-02, February 6th 2024), the French Competition Authority imposed a fine of 4 million euros on De Neuville and its parent company, Savencia Holding, for having implemented vertical agreements aimed at restricting, on the one hand, the...
Anticompetitive agreement among industry players regarding Bisphenol A in food packaging
Resume: In its decision numbered 23-D-15 dated December 29, 2023, the Competition Authority sanctioned a collective strategy involving three professional associations of food preservers, a syndicate of can manufacturers, and eleven companies as members of these...
Concerted practice implemented in the sector of securing tobacco: a consistent decision of the Competition Authority
Resume: In a recent decision (23-D-03, March 20th 2023) the french Competition Authority jointly and severally imposed a fine of 25,000 euros on "GROUPE SAVE" and its parent company "AGE INVEST" for implementing anti-competitive practices in the tobacconist security...
The sanction by the Competition Authority of National Confederation of French Tobacconists for the organization of boycott practices
Resume: In a recent decision of September 26, 2023, n°23-D-09, the French Competition Authority sanctioned the National Confederation of French Tobacconists for organizing boycott practices aimed at obstructing the distribution of games from the Française Des Jeux...