Like in the United States, competition enforcement in Europe is in flux. The European Commission has appointed new leadership (Teresa Ribera) and set new policy directives. While one could not be blamed for focusing all...more
1. CONTENTIEUX EPILOGUE DE L’AFFAIRE DES COMPOTES - Par un arrêt en date du 8 janvier 2025, la Cour de cassation a mis un point final à la saga du cartel des compotes en rejetant les pourvois formés contre l’arrêt de la...more
Antitrust and Competition - The French Competition Authority Launches Public Consultation Addressing Below-Threshold Transactions - On 14 January 2025, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence, FCA)...more
1. CONTENTIEUX - NOUVEAU RISQUE DE REMISE EN CAUSE À POSTERIORI D’OPÉRATIONS NON NOTIFIABLES - Par une décision du 2 mai 2024, l’Autorité de la concurrence (ci-après l’ « Autorité ») a fait pour la première fois...more
In a significant development for French merger control, on May 2, 2024 the French Competition Authority applied the jurisprudence laid down in the recent Towercast case to an alleged anti-competitive agreement matter in the...more
The French Competition Authority (“FCA”) is committed to an “open door” policy to support companies wishing to pursue projects around sustainable development. Continuing its informal policy since 2020, the FCA has published a...more
1. CONTENTIEUX - NON-RESPECT DES ENGAGEMENTS : GOOGLE SANCTIONNÉE À HAUTEUR DE 250 MILLIONS DANS L’AFFAIRE DES DROITS VOISINS - Par la décision n°24-D-03 du 15 mars 2024, Google est sanctionnée par l’Autorité de la...more
In an important judgment handed down on 29 June 2023 (Case C-211/22), the Court of Justice of the European Union (the "CJEU") ruled that a vertical agreement to fix minimum prices does not necessarily constitute a restriction...more
1. CONTENTIEUX - PUBLICITÉ EN LIGNE : MESURES CONSERVATOIRES IMPOSÉES À META - Par une décision du 4 mai 2023, l’Autorité de la concurrence (ci-après l’ « Autorité ») a prononcé des mesures conservatoires à l’encontre...more
1. CONTENTIEUX - ACTION EN FOLLOW-ON : ABSENCE DE RÉPARATION POUR LES SOCIÉTÉS DU GROUPE COLAS DANS L’AFFAIRE DU CARTEL DES CAMIONS - Dans un jugement remarqué du 27 octobre 2022, le tribunal de commerce de Lyon a...more
In 2022, the French Competition Authority (the "FCA") maintained a high level of activity, focusing notably on digital markets, which remain one of its key priorities. Last year also brought the first successful failing firm...more
1. CONTENTIEUX - PREMIÈRE DÉCISION D’ENGAGEMENTS DE META - Par une décision du 16 juin 2022, l’Autorité de la concurrence (ADLC) a rendu obligatoires les engagements proposés par Meta, qui marquent, à notre connaissance, ...more
The French Competition Authority ("FCA") has unconditionally authorized the acquisition of furniture retailer Conforama by Mobilux under the failing firm defence ("FFD"). On 8 July 2019, Mobilux group ("Mobilux")...more
The French Competition Authority ("FCA") fines a company for gun-jumping in a case relating to a progressive takeover and de facto control - On 12 April 2022, the FCA fined the Compagnie Financière Européenne de Prises de...more
Par une décision en date du 12 avril 2022, l’Autorité de la concurrence (l’« Autorité ») a sanctionné la Compagnie Financière Européenne de Prises de Participation (la « Cofepp ») à hauteur de 7 millions d’euros, pour avoir...more
Le 11 mars 2022, la Cour d’appel de Paris a infirmé dans son intégralité un jugement rendu le 31 mai 2019 par le Tribunal de commerce de Paris, qui avait condamné Google à indemniser un annonceur, la société Ulysse Service («...more
Order No. 2021-649 of May 26, 2021 (the "Order") finalizes the transposition into French law of the European Directive so-called "ECN +" of December 11, 2018, which aims to strengthen the powers of national competition...more
On 27 January 2021, the French competition authority (Autorité de la concurrence or ADC) adopted a decision accepting commitments from the building block producer Lego France (Lego) to amend its discount policy. The ADC...more
At a time when the European Union and many Member States have just unveiled their hydrogen strategy, the French Competition Authority takes the lead in delivering the very first analysis of the emerging hydrogen sector in a...more
The Competition and Distribution team of BCLP's Paris office reviews some key news from the end of 2020, in particular: ..The “Dammann Frères” decision of 3 December 2020 concerning the tea manufacturer's online sales...more
In Decision No. 20-D-20 issued on Dec. 3, 2020, the French Competition Authority fined the tea producer Dammann Frères €226,000 for forbidding its retailers to freely determine their own online resale prices for Dammann...more
This Newsletter of the Competition and Distribution team of BCLP's Paris office features some of the key developments of the last quarter. In this newsletter: ..To enable national authorities to better apprehend killer...more
According to the decision-making practice of the French Competition Authority (FCA), the coordination between subsidiaries of the same group when submitting coordinated but apparently independent offers in public tenders was...more
The French Competition Authority has maintained its aim to modernize and simplify the merger control system, initiated in 2017, with the publication and entry into force on July 24 of its . This document replaces the...more
French Competition Authority orders Google to negotiate remuneration with press publishers and news agencies under Article 15 of the Copyright Directive (as implemented in France). Background - In April 2019 the...more