Cleary Gottlieb partner Nicholas Levy and associates Anita Magraner Oliver and Conor Opdebeeck-Wilson co-authored the “European Union” chapter in The
The French Competition Authority Issues its Opinion on Competition in the Cloud Sector
On June 29, 2023, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) published its Opinion on competition in the cloud sector following a sector inquiry.[1] The Opinion examines various practices currently implemented or likely to be deployed in this sector which have the potential to restrict competition. The Opinion provides a blueprint for future investigations, setting out the theories of harm that the FCA may put forward in the context of abuse of dominance, abuse of economic dependency, anticompetitive agreements or merger control cases.
The Cour de cassation upholds a restrictive interpretation of the notion of “by object” infringements and puts an end to long-running proceedings
In a ruling dated June 28, 2023, the Cour de cassation[1] upheld the Paris Court of Appeals’ judgment which had reversed the 2010 decision of the French Competition Authority fining 11 banks for an anticompetitive pricing agreement in relation to check processing. The Cour de cassation ruled that the FCA had improperly qualified the agreement as a “by object” infringement when no sufficient degree of harmfulness to competition was proven. This ruling puts an end to a 13-year old judicial saga.
The Paris Court of Appeals upholds the FCA’s sandwich cartel decision
The French Cour de cassation confirms that the Paris Court of Appeals can rule on the legality of the French Competition Authority’s “name and shame” practices
On March 23, 2023, the French Cour de cassation ruled that requests to restrict the French Competition Authority’s (“FCA”) communication actions relating to a fining decision qualify as applications for interim relief under Article L.464-8 of the French Commercial Code and therefore can validly be brought before the Paris Court of Appeals.[1]
The French Competition Authority publishes its roadmap for 2023-2024
On March 3,2023, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) published its roadmap for 2023-2024, outlining its enforcement priorities for the year ahead.
The French Cour de Cassation upholds the €180 million in damages imposed on Orange in the Digicel case but remands the calculation of interest to the Paris Court of Appeals
On March 1, 2023, the French Cour de Cassation (i.e., the French Civil Supreme Court) upheld the Paris Court of Appeals’ (“Court of Appeals”) judgment awarding Digicel €180 million in damages for harm suffered as a result of anticompetitive practices implemented by Orange from 2000 to 2006 in the mobile telephony sector in the French West Indies and Guyana. However, the Cour de Cassation quashed the Court of Appeals’ finding that interest on the damage award should run from April 1, 2003, given that the harm inflicted to Digicel had not fully materialized at that date.
The French Competition Authority declines its jurisdiction to review injunctions imposed in a final decision
On February 15, 2023, the French competition authority (the “FCA”) deemed inadmissible Interflora’s application for review of injunctions imposed in 1986 and 2001 decisions (the “Decision”).