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02 March 2009 New French Competition Authority springs into action More than six months after its creation by the Law on the
Modernisation of the Economy (LME), which came into force on 4 August 2008,
and more than one and a half months late compared to the date initially
announced, the members of the board of the French Competition Authority (the Authority) have been
appointed and will hold their first meeting today 2 March 2009. How will this affect me? Merger Control From now on, it is to the Authority that one must notify potential transactions that fall within the parameters of French merger control, and not the Minister of the Economy and the DGCCRF, as was the case to date. Whilst the general merger notification thresholds remain unchanged, a
new set of thresholds will now be applicable to the retail sector. Note also that the Minister of the Economy is vested with the power to
clear mergers prohibited by the Authority, and even, and this has been much
criticised, to override a decision of the Authority and prohibit mergers that
the Authority has cleared. Inquiries and the
policing of anti-competitive behaviour The Authority has been granted independent powers of inquiry. In this respect, some of the DGCCRF’s investigators have been transferred to the Authority. The LME also brings into force a settlement procedure for small
businesses that have acted anti-competitively (to be managed by the Minister
of the Economy). And in addition… The Authority now has the right to act on its own initiative in giving public opinions and recommendations concerning all areas of competition. A hearing officer ("conseiller
auditeur") will work alongside the Authority whose role will
be to assure that the procedural rules are abided by and that the parties’ rights of defence are
protected. Key players Bruno Lasserre has been appointed President following a successful stint as President of the now defunct French Competition Council (Conseil de la concurrence). Other key players (vice-presidents) are: Françoise Aubert, judge at the French Civil Supreme Court ; Élisabeth Flury-Hérard, former member of the board of the Superior Council for Broadcasting ; Anne Perrot, professor of economics, University Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne; Patrick Spilliaert, magistrate at the Supreme Financial Court. Should you require further information on this or any other matter,
please contact one of the following: Olivier d'Ormesson (+33 1 56 43 57 26), Anne Wachsmann (+33 1 56 43 57 00), Pierre Zelenko (+33 1 56 43 57 04) |
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