Lionel Lesur is a partner and member of Franklin’s Corporate-M&A / Private Equity and Competition teams. Lawyer at the Paris and Rome Bars, he also manages Franklin’s Italian Desk. Lionel advises French and international companies in a wide variety of industries, including Healthcare and Luxury Goods, as well as investment funds and top managers. His experience includes the negotiation of business combinations in all forms (mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, minority investments, etc.) and complex commercial contracts, as well as assistance to foreign operators wishing to set up and develop strategically in France. Lionel also has significant experience in competition law, particularly in relation to multiple merger notifications and cartel proceedings and abuses of dominant position, both at the French and European levels. Finally, Lionel also advises on private enforcement, distribution law and competition compliance. He regularly teaches at the Universities of Aix-Marseille and Paris II Panthéon-Assas as well as at HEC and ESCP, both in mergers and acquisitions and in competition law.
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THE FRENCH COMPETITION AUTHORITY FINES A PHARMACEUTICAL LABORATORY EUR 25 MILLION FOR ANTI-GENERIC PRACTICES* On 20 December 2017, the French Competition Authority (the FCA) imposed a EUR 25 million fine on a pharmaceutical laboratory, for delaying entry onto the market of the generic (...)
170
SIGNIFICANT FINE IMPOSED BY THE FRENCH COMPETITION AUTHORITY IN FLOOR COVERINGS CARTEL* On October 18, 2017, the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) imposed a EUR 302 million fine on the three leading companies in the PVC and linoleum floor coverings sector; Forbo, Gerflor and Tarkett, (...)
356
On 10 March 2017, France finally implemented into French law the EU Directive 2014/104 of 26 November 2014 on antitrust damages actions (see our Special Report) through Order n° 2017-303 and its implementing Decree n° 2017-305 of 9 March 2017. France was more than two months late, but there (...)
103
FRENCH COMPETITION AUTHORITY IMPOSES ITS FIRST EVER FINE FOR GUN-JUMPING* For the first time ever, on 8 November 2016 the French Competition Authority (FCA) sanctioned companies for implementing a transaction that had been notified to the FCA but not yet received a clearance decision, (...)
280
As a general proposition, when the validity of a European Commission antitrust decision is challenged before the General Court of the European Union (GCEU), the procedure is one of judicial review, not a retrial on the merits (although the GCEU does have special jurisdiction to increase or (...)
377
The EU Directive on Antitrust Damages Actions was formally adopted by the European Parliament and the EU Council on 26 November 2014 and was published in the Official Journal on 5 December 2014. The 28 EU Member States are required to adapt their national laws and procedures in line with the (...)
95
COMMISSION PUBLISHES WHITE PAPER ON MINORITY SHAREHOLDINGS* On 9 July 2014, the EU Commission (Commission) published a White Paper (White Paper) entitled Towards more effective EU merger control. The White Paper sets out the Commission’s current thinking on the application of merger control (...)
572
The Cour de cassation, France’s highest court for judicial matters, rendered a judgment on 15 January 2013 in a case involving Jaguar’s distribution agreements in France. The judgment follows an earlier ruling on the matter by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), from which the (...)
326
EU Commission Can Bring Follow-On Actions for Damages on Behalf of the European Union in Cartel Cases* On 6 November 2012, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that the European Commission was entitled to represent the European Union in an action for damages before (...)
89
FCA’S NEW POLICY PROVIDES STRONG INCENTIVES FOR COMPLIANCE PROGRAM ADOPTION Following up on our prior post, on February 10, 2012, the French Competition Authority (FCA) published the final version of its framework document on compliance programs and of its Notice relating to settlements. (...)
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APPLICATION OF THE ’PRIORITY PRINCIPLE’ * The EU Commission was notified of the Seagate/Samsung transaction and the Western Digital/Hitachi transactions – both mergers involving hard drive disk businesses – within days of each other. In its decision on the Seagate/Samsung transaction (...)
626
The European Commission published on 17 October 2011 its new guidelines for best practices during antitrust procedures. The guidelines cover the main proceedings concerning alleged infringements of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (cartel (...)
25
PUBIC CONSULTATION ON SETTLEMENT AND COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS LAUNCHED BY THE FRENCH COMPETITION AUTHORITY* On October 14, the French Competition Authority (FCA) launched a two-month public consultation for guidelines on settlement and compliance programs. Both these guidelines have been highly (...)
50
WITHDRAWAL OF CLEARANCE DECISION AND EUR 30 MILLION FINE AGAINST CANAL PLUS FOR UNFULFILLED MERGER CLEARANCE COMMITMENTS* The French Competition Authority has taken a hard stance by withdrawing its authorization of French broadcaster Canal Plus’ purchase of rival commercial television (...)
666
On 24 August 2011, the Commercial Court in Paris ordered the French competition authority, the Autorité de la concurrence (Autorité), to disclose documents relating to the settlement of an antitrust investigation in the context of a private damages action. This order could significantly (...)
50
FRENCH COURT ORDERS FRENCH COMPETITION AUTHORITY TO DISCLOSE ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION DOCUMENTS* The Commercial Court in Paris has once again ordered the French Competition Authority (the Autorité de la concurrence, the "FCA") to disclose documents in its file regarding an antitrust (...)
1824
Background This case is the latest episode of the saga of the «mobile telephony case«. In 2005 the French Competition Council imposed on the three leading French mobile operators (Orange France, SFR and Bouygues Télécom) a record fine of € 534 M for collusive practices consisting in (i) (...)
1417
In a ruling of 18 March 2009, the Paris Court of Appeal (the "Court") annulled a decision by the French Competition Council (the "Decision" and the "Council") to fine 7 physicians’ unions for an agreement among their members to increase fees charged to patients. These practices ran for varying (...)
1018
Interview conducted by Lionel Lesur, Partner, Head of the Antitrust Practice, Franklin, Paris Introduction/Background Jacques, you are currently Group Head of Institutional Affairs at one of the top banking groups in Europe. How would you briefly describe your background and journey until (...)
1789
While its review was voluntarily put aside by the Merger Regulation (No. 139/2004), the issue of “non-controlling” minority shareholding is a hot topic today. The co-existence of various national systems within the EU whereas most of the Member States do not have any specific mechanisms, but (...)
915
One year after the publication of the French Competition Authority’s notice on fines, it is possible to take stock of its application. The three contributions in this article describe its implementation and evaluate its impact on the level of fines imposed on undertakings. Moreover, the (...)
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Dictionnaire de droit de la concurrence
