French Insights
The most important French decisions and news in competition law now accessible in English
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...
Restrictive competition practices: the Cour de cassation opens up a new shortcut for judicial price control
Resume: The Cour de cassation clarifies the application of article L. 442-6, I, 1° of the commercial code to the price reduction obtained from a commercial partner and confirms the application of the law on restrictive competition practices to subcontracting...
The temporal delimitation in French law of the application of the non-passing on presumption initiated by the European directive
Resume: In a recent decision (Cass. Com., October 19, 2022, No. 21-19.197), the Court of Cassation ruled on the litigation concerning the application of Directive No. 2014/104 in the context of follow-on actions brought before French courts. The dispute involved a...
Landmark Decision in French Private Enforcement of Competition Law: Clarifying Anticompetitive Damage
Resume: The recent Cour de cassation decision (Cass. Com., June 7, 2023, n°22-10.545, 2 11.099, 22-11.100, B) highlights the evolving focus on harm in private enforcement cases. The case addresses the existence of damage, recognition of the umbrella effect, and...
Continuation of commercial relations: effects of a transfer of assets and judicial control over the length of the notice period
Resume: According to the Cour de cassation, when the new owner of a company's activity breaks off its relationship with a partner who was already working with the company, this previous relationship does not count for the calculation of the notice period in the...
Application of the former Continental Can case law: the return of ex-post control of mergers involving abuse of a dominant position
Resume: In a ruling handed down on March, 16, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union applied its earlier Continental Can case law to a reference for a preliminary ruling, stating that a competition authority may review an ex post merger for abuse of a...
Meta’s commitment issues, a focus in the online advertisement industry
Resume: On June 16th, 2022, the French Competition Authority accepted the remedies offered by Meta regarding exclusionary conducts the undertaking had had in the online Display advertisement sector. The Authority had expressed competition concerns in its preliminary...
The tricky demonstration of the excessive nature of prices implemented by a de facto monopoly company
Resume: In its decision of July 7, 2021 n° 19-25.586 and n°19-25.602, the commercial chamber of the Court of Cassation ruled on the assessment of the excessive nature of the prices implemented by an undertaking in a dominant position. In doing so, the Court confirmed...
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...