On December 4, 2024, the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) sanctioned two airlines, Air Antilles and Air Caraïbes, and one specialised consultant for having implemented a strategy to increase prices and coordinate offers and conditions in the Caribbean inter-island aviation transport sector (the “Decision”).[1] The FCA imposed total fines of €14.57 million, concluding a five-year old investigation.[2]
On November 28, 2024, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) conditionally cleared the acquisition of 200 former Casino stores by the Intermarché group.[1] The FCA decision is conditional on the divestment of 11 stores to ensure that consumers have access to alternative offerings when purchasing mass-market products.
On November 19, 2024, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) submitted a Report (“FCA Report”) to the Ministers for Energy and the Economy, on the national regulated tariffs for electricity (tarifs réglementés de vente d’électricité – “TRVs”).[1] The FCA recommended to take practical measures to prepare the termination of the TRV mechanism, anticipating regulatory changes at the national and European levels in favor of market-based pricing.
On October 29, 2024, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) imposed a fine totalling €470 million on manufacturers and distributors of low-voltage electrical equipment (the “Decision”) for vertical resale price fixing.[1] The FCA sanctioned two vertical price agreements (i) between Schneider Electric and its distributors Rexel and Sonepar implemented from December 2012 to September 2018, and (ii) between Legrand and its distributor Rexel from May 2012 and September 2015.
On September 13, 2024, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) approved the acquisition of Kindred Group (“Kindred”) by La Française des Jeux (“FDJ”, the “Transaction”) in the gambling sector, subject to behavioural commitments, including brand separation, to address conglomerate concerns.[1]
On August 19, 2024, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) unconditionally cleared Bouygues Telecom’s acquisition of sole control of La Poste Telecom (together “the Parties”) through the acquisition of La Poste Group’s 51% stake. SFR owned the remaining 49% of La Poste Telecom and had a right of first refusal on La Poste Group’s shares that were for sale, as well as a right of approval over the buyer of those shares.[1] The acquisition was completed on November 15, 2024.[2]
In a decision dated July 24, 2024,[1] the Paris Court of Appeals granted a stay of execution in relation to a €2,700,000 fine imposed on the Association Nationale des Industries Alimentaires (“ANIA”) by the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) in the Bisphenol A case only considering the manifestly excessive consequences of such sanction in view of ANIA’s financial situation and without examining its merits.
On May 3, 2024, the French Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control[1] (“DGCCRF”) published its 2023 annual report (the “Report”).[2] The Report highlights the DGCCRF’s importance in cartel and other anti-competitive behavior detection in France, as well as its new roles, including taking part in the enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”).[3]
Jérôme Vidal was appointed head of the mergers unit of the French Competition Authority (“FCA”), effective June 17, 2024. Jérôme Vidal succeeds Etienne Chantrel who had held this position since January 2017.
On May 21, 2024, the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) fined 11 companies active in the pre-cast concrete sector for having exchanged commercially sensitive information and implemented anticompetitive price fixing, customer allocation and bid rigging practices over seven to ten years (from 2008 or 2011 to 2017 or 2018 depending on the practices).[1] These practices were uncovered in the context of a criminal investigation carried out under the supervision of a criminal investigating judge (juge d’instruction). Fines ranged from €150,000 to €25.5 million, amounting to a total of approx. €76.6 million.