French Competition Law Newsletter
Below are links to French Competition Law Newsletters that Cleary publishes regularly.
2021
January – February
Highlights
The French Competition Authority reports on its 2020 activity and announces its enforcement priorities for 2021
-
On December 23, 2020, the French Competition Authority presented a summary report of its 2020 activity and set out its priorities for 2021.
Click here to read more.
The French Competition Authority accepts Lego’s revised discount commitments
- On January 27, 2020, the French Competition Authority accepted Lego’s commitments, thereby closing a five-year long investigation into the discount policy applied to distributors by the building games manufacturer.
Click here to read more.
The French Competition Authority publishes a study on professional associations
- In connection with the forthcoming transposition of Directive No. 2019/1, which exposes professional associations to higher fines for anti-competitive practices, the French Competition Authority has published a study on how competition law applies to professional associations and made a number of practical recommendations.
Click here to read more.
The French Cour de cassation holds that legal privilege applies to all attorney-client communications relating to the exercise of the rights of defence—even those unrelated to the antitrust case at stake
- On January 20, 2021, the Criminal Chamber of the Cour de cassation ruled that none of the attorney-client communications relating to the exercise of the client’s rights of defence could be seized during dawn raids, even those that were not related to the antitrust case in relation to which the dawn raids were carried out.
Click here to read more.
The French Competition Authority unconditionally clears Engie’s acquisition of a stake in hydrogen producer and distributor DMSE, factoring in growing “green” demand
- On January 29, 2021, the French Competition Authority unconditionally cleared Engie’s acquisition, through its subsidiary Storengy, of a controlling stake in Dijon Métropole Smart EnergHy, a joint venture between Dijon Métropole and the Rougeot group specialized in the production and distribution of hydrogen.
Click here to read more.
The French Cour de cassation confirms that a company may be considered to participate in a cartel as long as the other colluding firms believe in its involvement
-
On February 10, 2021, the French Cour de cassation appeared to put an end to the “Packaged Flour” legal saga, as it dismissed yet another appeal seeking to reform the French Competition Authority’s 2012 prohibition decision.
Click here to read more.
The French Cour de cassation confirms the validity of FCA dawn raids authorized on the basis of another competition authority’s request for investigative measures
-
In a ruling dated February 17, 2021, the Cour de cassation dismissed an appeal formed against an order dated June 2019, in which the Paris Court of Appeals confirmed that the French Competition Authority could validly initiate an investigation and carry out dawn raids on the basis of a request for inspection issued by the competition authority of another EU Member State.
Click here to read more.
Please click here to read the complete newsletter.
2020
2019