On June 4, 2025, The French Competition Authority (“FCA”) launched a public consultation on the topic of self-preferencing in the cloud computing sector. This follows the recent enactment of Law No. 2024-449 on the security and regulation of the digital space (“SREN Law”). This consultation reflects growing scrutiny of vertically integrated cloud providers that may favor their own services and software at the expense of competitors.
On May 28, 2025, the French Court of Cassation issued a ruling dismissing an appeal from Ambulances Sannac, a French company providing private ambulance services (“Sannac”) against a decision of the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) finding it had entered into anticompetitive agreements in the sector of inter-communal hospital medical transport. The appeal was dismissed entirely due to a procedural oversight[1].
In January 2025, the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) launched a public consultation on the introduction of a merger control framework for transactions that fall below the current turnover-based notification thresholds.[1] Whereas three options were presented in the consultation, on April 10, 2025 the FCA announced that the first option, namely the introduction of a call-in power based on quantitative and qualitative criteria, had received the most positive feedback and was being prioritized.[2]
On January 22, 2025, the Paris Court of Appeal (the “Court of Appeals”)[1] upheld the Paris Commercial Court’s dismissal
The French Ministry for Economy has blocked under FDI rules U.S.-based leading provider of fluid motion and control products and services Flowserve Corporation’s (“Flowserve”) USD 245 million proposed acquisition of Velan Inc (“Velan”), a Canada-based leading provider of industrial steel valves.[1]
In a decision dated September 26, 2023, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) imposed a €750,000 penalty on the French tobacco shops trade union, the Confédération Nationale des Buralistes de France (“CNBF”),for boycotting practices (the “Decision”).[1] The FCA found that the trade union had sought to exclude rivals from the distribution of gambling games issued by La Française des Jeux (“FDJ”), the state-owned company responsible for operating the national lottery in France.