France

On September 15, 2020, Margaret Vestager announced that the European Commission would, as of mid-2021, accept referrals from national competition authorities for transactions that do not reach any national notification thresholds under Article 22 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (“Article 22”).[1] This provision enables a national competition authority to request that the European Commission examine a transaction that does not meet the European Union notification thresholds, but would affect trade between Member States and threaten to significantly affect competition.

On September 9, 2020, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) fined Novartis, Roche and its subsidiary Genentech €444 million for abusing their collective dominance on the market for AMD treatment. The FCA found that the parties disparaged the off-label use of Roche’s Avastin drug and spread an alarmist discourse before the public authorities in order to preserve the dominant position and high price of Novartis’ Lucentis drug.

On August 28, 2020, the FCA prohibited for the first time a proposed transaction following an in-depth Phase 2 review.[1] The FCA concluded that Soditroy and the E. Leclerc’s proposed acquisition of joint control over a Géant Casino hypermarket around the city of Troyes raised serious competition concerns.

On July 23, 2020, the FCA published its new guidelines on merger control[1] (the “Guidelines”), which came into effect on the same day and therefore replaced the previous guidelines issued in 2013.

On July 16, 2020, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) imposed a €93 million fine on 12 manufacturers for their participation in a cartel in the ham and cold meat sector.[1] The FCA started its investigation in 2012, following a complaint from a slaughterhouse and a leniency application by Campofrio, a cold meat manufacturer. The FCA subsequently conducted dawn raids at the 12 cold meat manufacturers’ premises in 2013.

On July 8, 2020, the Paris Court of Appeals (“Court of Appeals”) fully annulled a May 2014 search warrant and subsequent dawn raids carried out at Whirlpool France’s premises (“Whirlpool”).[1] The Court of Appeals also ordered the FCA to return all of Whirlpool’s seized documents.

On June 17, 2020, the Paris Court of Appeals (“the Court”) ordered Orange and its subsidiary Orange Caraïbe to pay (jointly and severally) €181.5 million in antitrust damages and €68 million in interest to rival Digicel (formerly Bouygues Telecom Caraïbe) as compensation for the Orange group’s anti-competitive behavior across several markets in the French West Indies.[1] The Court’s decision overturns a 2017 first instance ruling by the Paris Commercial Court.[2]

On June 5, 2020, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) published a study on the growth of e-commerce and its impact on competition policy. This publication provides an overview of the lasting changes triggered by the development of online sales, the impact of such changes on the analytical framework used by the FCA and the types of anticompetitive conducts that may arise as a result. The study is part of a broader reflection led by the FCA on the challenges raised by antitrust enforcement in the digital sector.[1]

On May 26, 2020, the FCA conditionally approved Bernard Hayot Group’s €219 million acquisition of the Vindémia Group—one of the largest deals in French overseas territories ever reviewed by the FCA.[1] Further to an on-site investigation, the FCA cleared the transaction in Phase I, subject to a fix-it-first remedy and behavioral commitments.

On May 26, 2020, the Paris Court of Appeals confirmed the €0.9 million fine imposed on Akka Group for obstructing dawn raids conducted on its premises, including by breaking seals. This was the second decision issued by the FCA for dawn raid obstruction and the first one for breaking seals.