Competition Law

In the era of economic liberalism, opening markets to competition is widely encouraged in modern societies.

In France, freedom of trade and industry is a long-standing principle, first proclaimed after the French Revolution by the so-called Allarde Decree of March 2 and 17, 1791.

This fundamental principle, that was given constitutional value by the French Constitutional Council in a decision dated January 16, 1982, has one key exception: Unfair competition.

On April 20, 2023, the European Commission adopted a new merger control simplification package to further simplify its procedures for reviewing mergers.

This package is expected to bring significant benefits for businesses and advisers in terms of preparatory work and related costs.

The new rules will apply as from September 1, 2023.

The French Competition Authority published on July 30, 2021 a notice on the method for determining fines in relation to anticompetitive practices, which repeals and replaces the previous notice dated May 16, 2011.

This new notice, based on case law and the decisions rendered by the French Competition Authority in the last ten years, draws the consequences of the transposition of the ECN+ Directive aimed at increasing the effectiveness of competition rules within the European Union.

In decision No. n°21-D-11 dated June 7, 2021, the Autorité de la concurrence (French Competition Authority) imposed a 220 million euros fine on Google.

The reason: Google had engaged into discriminatory practices aimed at favoring its own adverting technologies to the detriment of the other players of the sector.

The matter was brought before the French Competition Authority by several newspaper publishers (News Corp. Inc., the Figaro group and the Rossel La Voix group) adversely affected by the practices of the digital giant.

Since the entry into force of Regulation 1/2003[1] on May 1, 2014, the National Competition Authorities (“NCAs”) of the 27 Member States and the European Commission form the “European Competition Network” which aims at ensuring the effective enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”)[2]. 15 […]