Jean-Philippe Kovar

Pursuant to Article L. 462-4-I of the French Commercial Code, created by Article 52 of the Law of 6 August 2015 on growth, activity and equal economic opportunities, known as the "Macron" Law, the French Competition Authority has issued, for the third time, an opinion on the freedom of (...)

The health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the film industry, and in particular on film distribution. The closure of cinemas, the curfew, which led to the cancellation of a large number of night screenings, and the health constraints imposed when cinemas (...)

For the third time since the entry into force of Article L. 462-4-2 C. com. created by Article 57 of Law No. 2015-990 of 6 August 2015 for growth, activity and equal economic opportunities, the Competition Authority has issued an opinion on the freedom of establishment of lawyers at the Council (...)

Under the terms of article L. 2251-4 of the General Code of Local Authorities, "the municipality may award subsidies to existing companies whose purpose is to operate cinemas". These subsidies "may only be granted to establishments which, regardless of the number of their cinemas, achieve a (...)

Following a referral from the Minister for the Economy, Finance and Recovery, the Competition Authority was asked to give its opinion, in an advisory capacity, on a draft ministerial order strengthening the control of the Minister for Energy over companies operating pipelines in the general (...)

On referral from the Court of Cassation and in application of the conflict prevention mechanism in case of a question of jurisdiction raising a serious difficulty provided for in Article 35 of Decree No. 2015-233 of 27 February 2015, the Court of Conflicts has been called upon to determine the (...)

It will be recalled that the Marseille Administrative Court of Appeal overturned, in a judgment of 25 February 2019, a judgment of the Marseille Administrative Court annulling an administrative fine of €375,000 imposed, by the Regional Director of Enterprises, Competition, Consumption, Labour (...)

In a decision of 27 November 2020, the Conseil d’Etat ruled for the first time on the conditions under which a public entity granting financial aid is liable to the creditors of the supported company, outside the specific case of de facto management. In 2002, the State granted AOM Air Liberté a (...)

This lengthy 297-page opinion, issued at the request of the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, is the result of an 18-month investigation during which the Competition Authority interviewed all the economic, political, institutional and trade union players in Corsica. Some thirty (...)

The French Competition Authority (Autorité de la Concurrence) was asked by the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Recovery to issue a reserved opinion on a draft decree issued pursuant to Article L. 541-30-2 of the Environment Code, on the basis of Article L. 462-2 of the Code. This provision (...)

On 16 September 2020, the Competition Authority issued an opinion on the opening to competition of the public passenger bus transport sector in Ile-de-France, at the request of Ile-de-France Mobilités ("IDFM"). As the sole organising authority for transport in Ile-de-France, IDFM, which (...)

Optical Center, a company specialising in the distribution of optical products that operates a network of approximately 550 stores in France, mainly under franchise, created in 2016 a laser surgery centre in downtown Lyon, on the first floor of a building on the ground floor of which is located (...)

On 22 July 2020, the Government asked the Competition Authority for two new proposals for maps of the areas where bailiffs and auctioneers are located, in order to take into account the health crisis and its impact on the economic activity of these two professions, which are expected to merge (...)

The annotated opinion was issued by the Competition Authority at the request of the Minister for the Economy and Finance as part of the exemption procedure provided for in Articles 34 and 35 of Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award (...)

Pursuant to Article L. 444-7 of the French Commercial Code, the Minister of the Economy and Finance asked the Competition Authority for an opinion on a draft decree of the Conseil d’État aimed at amending the rules relating to the setting of regulated tariffs for certain legal professions. The (...)

The Competition Authority was seized for an opinion on a draft decree aimed at capping the fees and charges levied by the syndics of co-ownership for the preparation of the dated statement on the occasion of the transfer for valuable consideration of one or more co-ownership lots. The dated (...)

The Minister of the Economy and Finance submitted to the Competition Authority for consultation six draft decrees on codes of ethics for the medical (doctors and dental surgeons) and paramedical (midwives, nurses, masseur-physiotherapists and chiropodists) professions. The Authority belatedly (...)

The Competition Authority was called upon to rule, under merger control, on the acquisition by the Eiffage group of the 49.99% stake held by Casil Europe in the capital of the concession company for Toulouse-Blagnac airport (ATB). In its competitive analysis, the Authority emphasises in (...)

In accordance with Article L. 462-4-1 C. com., the Competition Authority is responsible for giving "to the Minister of Justice, who is the guarantor, an opinion on the freedom of establishment of notaries, bailiffs and auctioneers". In this opinion, the Authority ’shall make any recommendations (...)

Fréthelle, which provides passenger transport services by coach linking Beauvais-Tillé airport to various destinations, brought an action before the Competition Authority against the Société Aéroportuaire de gestion et d’exploitation de Beauvais (SAGEB), which manages Beauvais-Tillé airport, and in (...)

The management of Toulouse-Blagnac airport, which is the third largest regional airport in France with more than 9 million passengers a year, was long granted by the State to the Toulouse Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and in 2007 was entrusted to ATB, whose capital was then entirely (...)

The Competition Authority, which took up the matter ex officio following a report from the DGCCRF, sanctioned the Ordre des architectes and several architects or architectural firms for having infringed Articles 101 TFEU and L. 420-1 C. com. by implementing decisions of associations of (...)

At the request of the Government, the Competition Authority, as part of its advisory function, has been called upon to examine the risks to competition that the extension of branch agreements by the administrative authority may represent. The opinion delivered by the Authority shows the (...)

The French Competition Authority was consulted by the Government on the functioning of competition in the import and distribution of consumer products in the French overseas departments and regions (DROMs), and delivered the results of its analyses on 12 July 2019. As highlighted in the press (...)

Groupon, which operates the eponymous website, filed two complaints with the French Competition Authority against the Conseil national de l’Ordre des médecins (CNOM) and the Conseil national de l’Ordre des chirurgiens-dentistes (CNOCD), alleging boycott practices contrary to Articles L. 420-1 of (...)

The companies of the SOS-Infirmières group had referred to the Paris Court of Appeal the matter to the Competition Authority, which had declared itself partially incompetent and had rejected the referral for the rest for lack of sufficient evidence (Aut. conc, Dec. No. 18-D-01 of 18 January 2018 (...)

Order No. 2018-3 of 3 January 2018 on the adaptation of the conditions for the creation, transfer, grouping and transfer of pharmacy dispensaries introduced special provisions for airports into the Public Health Code. This ordinance replaced the criterion of the annual number of passengers at (...)

AGN Avocats Développement and AGN Avocats have referred to the Competition Authority a set of practices implemented, according to them, by the Toulouse and Limoges Bar Associations, which have the purpose or effect of driving them out of the legal services market. SELAS AGN Avocats, and its (...)

Pursuant to Article L. 462-4-1 C. com., the Competition Authority gives the Minister of Justice, who is the guarantor, an opinion on the freedom of establishment of notaries, bailiffs and auctioneers. On this occasion, it formulates "recommendations to improve access to public or ministerial (...)

The Competition Authority was consulted by the Chambre syndicale nationale des géomètres-topographes (CSNGT) on a request for an opinion, mainly on the extent of the legal monopoly of surveyors. Topographical services, which consist of surveying the configuration of the premises and drawing up (...)

Several decisions handed down in recent months by the administrative courts have recalled the value and scope of the oldest of the economic freedoms enshrined in French law. For the record, the freedom of trade and industry, which derives from the law of 2-17 March 1791 (known as the "Allarde (...)

The company SOS-Infirmières and its subsidiaries offer various services designed to facilitate the practice of the profession of liberal profession nursing (provision of premises, provision of a telephone call reception service, an adapted computer tool, consumables such as sterile gloves, (...)

In two rulings handed down on 13 December 2017 in the context of the "mutual credit war" between the Crédit Mutuel group and Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, the Court of First Instance of the European Union provides useful clarifications on the status of the central bodies and their role in prudential (...)

This decision, by which the Competition Authority accepted and made binding commitments proposed by the National Institute for Archaeological Research (INRAP), has already been commented on in the previous issue of the column "Unilateral practices" (Concurrences No. 3-2017, pp. 80-81, obs. A. (...)

Article 61 of Act No. 2015-990 of 6 August 2015 on growth, activity and equal economic opportunities empowered the Government to take, by ordinance, "any measure falling within the scope of the law to improve, by means of a competitive examination, by setting the financial conditions for this (...)

Act No. 2015-990 of 6 August 2015 on growth, activity and equal economic opportunities extended the territorial jurisdiction of lawyers in respect of applications by allowing them to apply before all the high courts within the jurisdiction of the court of appeal in which they have established (...)

The Conseil d’État has been seized of an appeal for misuse of power lodged against Decree No. 2016-360 of 25 March 2016 on public procurement contracts, and recalls the conditions for intervention by public entities in a market. The Paris Bar Association argued that Article 142 of the Decree of (...)

In accordance with Article 4 of Decree No 92-377 of 1 April 1992, any producer or importer whose products are marketed in packaging or, if the producer or importer cannot be identified, the person responsible for first placing these products on the market, is required to contribute to or (...)

The decision under observation forms part of a series of disputes between Crédit Mutuel Arkéa (CMA) and Confédération nationale du Crédit mutuel. Crédit Mutuel is a mutual banking network organised at three territorial levels: the 2 100 local mutual banks, each of which is a member of one of the 18 (...)

This opinion of the Competition Authority, which follows an ex officio referral, identifies a series of obstacles to the development of competition in the hearing aid sector. The Authority emphasises the economic importance of this sector of activity, which represents a market worth EUR 1 (...)

Seized by seven regional student mutual insurance companies (SMER), the Competition Authority was called upon to rule on allegations of anti-competitive practices in the student social protection sector, which includes student social security and complementary health insurance activity. The (...)

The French Federation of Insurance Companies brought an action before the Conseil d’État on grounds of misuse of powers against Recommendation 2014-R-01 of 3 July 2014 of the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) on agreements concerning the distribution of life insurance contracts (...)

The Italian legislation provides, as regards contracts concluded orally, that the price of road haulage services for hire or reward may not be less than minimum operating costs to be fixed by the Road Transport Observatory. This Observatory shall be composed of ten members chosen by the (...)

On 9 February 2010, the National Council of the National Order of Nurses (ONI) adopted a draft code of ethics, largely inspired by the codes of ethics applicable to other health professions, which met with opposition from professional unions that had not been consulted during its development. (...)

The Competition Authority was asked by the Minister for the Economy, Industry and Digitalisation to give its opinion on a draft decree issued by the Council of State to transpose Directive 2009/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on airport charges. This (...)

The Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) is a public industrial and commercial establishment in charge of a number of missions related to post-mining risk management. Since a decree of 4 April 2006 (decree n° 2006-402 of 4 April 2006 modifying decree n° 59-1205 of 23 October 1959 (...)

Article L. 213-4-1 of the Highway Code, resulting from Act No. 2015-990 of 6 August 2015 on growth, activity and equal economic opportunities, sets, for the first time, a legislative framework for the allocation by the administration of driving test places for the practical test of the driving (...)

Pursuant to Article L. 444-7 of the French Commercial Code, Decree no. 2016-230 of 26 February 2016 on the tariffs of certain legal professionals and the interprofessional fund for access to law and justice completes the new tariff regulation system for regulated legal professions resulting (...)

Article L. 221-4 of the Highway Code, created by Article 28 of Law No. 2015-990 of 6 August 2015 for growth, activity and equal economic opportunities, provides that the organisation of theoretical driving licence tests may be carried out "by the administrative authority or by persons approved (...)

Article 101 TFEU prohibits all agreements between undertakings which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction, or distorsion of competition within the internal market. If the distinction between restrictions of competition by object or by effect deals with the proof and (...)

Since the entry into force of Law No. 2015-990 of 6 August 2015 on growth, activity and equal economic opportunities, the regulated rates applicable to the services of auctioneers, commercial court clerks, bailiffs, court administrators, legal representatives and notaries, as well as the rights (...)

Under the Common Fisheries Policy, the management of fishery resources is based on the allocation to EU Member States of fishing quotas corresponding to the maximum quantities of fish of a species that may be caught within a defined area and time period. In France, these quotas are divided (...)

On 16 January 2014, the Competition Authority decided to open a sector inquiry to identify possible competition concerns raised by the standardisation and certification processes. In this context, it organised a public consultation between 13 April and 1 June 2015, which attracted more than 240 (...)

Following a request for an opinion from the Union Fédérale des consommateurs - Que Choisir (UFC-Que Choisir), the Competition Authority was asked to give an advisory opinion on the competitive operation of the real estate bank guarantee market. The consumer association was concerned about the (...)

In this decision, the French Competition Authority rules - eight years after TowerCast brought the matter before it - on the abuse of a dominant position by TDF when it renewed the state-owned occupation agreement for the terrestrial broadcasting of radio and television programs from the Eiffel (...)

The Competition Authority had before it, in an advisory capacity, two draft decrees and orders providing for four maximum mandatory flat-rate amounts for taxi fares between Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports and the right and left banks of Paris, as well as the introduction of (...)

(See also, chronicles "Unilateral practices". and "Procedures"No. Concurrences3-2015, pp. 81 and 156, obs. F.M. and C. L.) The Competition Authority had received a complaint from the company Transdev, alleging abuse of the dominant position held by SNCF on the national rail passenger transport (...)

Senate, April 7, 2015, Growth, Activity and Equal Economic Opportunity Bill (1st reading) The bill for growth, activity and equal economic opportunities, considered as adopted in first reading by the National Assembly following the rejection, on 19 February 2015, of the motion of censure (...)

CJEU, 11 Feb. 2015, bpost v. Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT), case C-340/13 Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Cour d’appel de Bruxelles (Brussels Court of Appeal) in a dispute between the provider of the universal postal service in Belgium (bpost) and (...)

The Competition Authority has received a complaint for abuse of a dominant position and anti-competitive agreements against the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (GPMM) and several successive occupants of the public port domain, and is applying the Aéroports de Paris and Gisserot jurisprudence of (...)

Article L. 111-84 of the Energy Code requires EDF and local distribution companies to separate, for accounting purposes, the supply of electricity to final consumers who have exercised their right to choose their supplier freely from the supply to final consumers who have not exercised that (...)

Article L. 432-6 of the Energy Code authorises municipalities or public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation that do not have a public natural gas distribution network or whose service works are not in progress to concede the public distribution of gas to a company approved for this (...)

Celtipharm, a company specializing in the engineering of economic data in the health and research sector, had filed a complaint with the Competition Authority for abuse of a dominant position against the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie des Travailleurs Salariés (CNAMTS) and GIE SESAM-Vitale. (...)

Prescription support software and dispensing support software are IT solutions that support doctors and pharmacists, respectively, when prescribing and dispensing medicines, in particular by indicating the existence of possible contraindications, interactions or overdoses. These software (...)

By this decision, taken in application of Article 13, § 6 of Regulation No. 347/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, the CRÉ sets the methodology and criteria for assessing electricity and gas infrastructure (...)

When the Finance Committee of the National Assembly asked the Competition Authority for an opinion on the basis of Article L. 462-1 of the French Commercial Code, the Authority had to draw up an assessment of the motorway sector almost ten years after the privatisation of the motorway (...)

Since 2006, the Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes (ARCEP) has been subjecting the upstream wholesale market for terrestrial terrestrial television broadcasting services in digital mode to ex ante regulation (ARCEP, dec. 06-0160 of April 6, 2006 on the definition (...)

The erasure of electricity consumption, which consists in temporarily lowering the level of electricity consumption of one or more consumers at the request of an erasure operator, has been the subject of a legal framework by articles 13 and 14 of law n° 2013-312 of 15 April 2013 aiming at (...)

Pursuant to Article L. 452-2 of the Energy Code, the Commission de régulation de l’énergie sets the methodologies used to establish tariffs for the use of public natural gas distribution networks. It is also responsible, pursuant to Article L. 452-3 of the said code, for deliberating on the (...)

In a decision of December 13, 2012, the CRE specified the terms and conditions for changes in the tariffs for use of the natural gas transmission networks - known as "ATRT5 tariffs" - of GRTgaz and TIGF (CRE, deliberation of December 13, 2012 on the tariff for use of the natural gas (...)

This CRE deliberation of 29 January 2014 repeals and replaces the deliberation of 5 February 2013 on the rules of appropriate accounting for suppliers bearing public electricity service charges. It essentially reiterates its provisions, but introduces some changes to the list of technical and (...)

The Rapidépannage company requested the cancellation for excess of power of decree no. 2012-953 of 1 August 2012 sanctioning breakdown services carried out without approval on motorways and civil engineering structures conceded on the national road network. This decree inserts into the Highway (...)

Pursuant to Article L. 341-5 of the French Energy Code, as amended by Act no. 2013-619 of 16 July 2013 containing various provisions for adapting to European Union law in the area of sustainable development, it is the responsibility of the Energy Regulation Commission (CRE) to propose to the (...)

The company Alsace Dépannage, which specialises in the repair and towing of light vehicles and heavy goods vehicles, reproached the Compulsory Corporation of Automobile Professionals - Sectors of Colmar - Guebwiller & Ribeauvillé (COPACO) for having refused its registration on the duty (...)

CJEU, 12.07.12, Compass Datenbank GmbH v. Republik Österreich, Case C-138/11 Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling by the Supreme Court of Austria as to whether the Austrian State is acting as an undertaking within the meaning of (...)

Aut. conc. dec. no. 12-D-13 of 15 May 2012 relating to a referral from the Desriac company and the national union of motor vehicle roadworthiness testing concerning practices implemented on the market for the roadworthiness testing of heavy vehicles The roadworthiness testing of heavy goods (...)

Aut. conc. opinion No. 12-A-10 of 12 April 2012 on a draft decree relating to the introduction of home help for state pensioners In April 2011, the Minister in charge of the Civil Service announced the creation of a new home help scheme for retired civil servants. This announcement followed (...)

Concise Aut. opinion n° 12-A-05 of 17 February 2012 on maritime transport between Corsica and the mainland Since 1976, services to Corsica have been provided in accordance with the principle of territorial continuity, which is intended to compensate for the island’s insularity by guaranteeing (...)

Concise Aut. opinion No. 11-A-18 of 24 November 2011 on the creation of local public companies The French Competition Authority has been asked by the professional association Entreprises Générales de France - BTP to give its opinion on Act No. 2010-559 of 28 May 2010 on the development of local (...)

Const. dec. no. 11-D-16 of 25 November 2011 on practices implemented in the field of telecare for the elderly In 1986, the Nord Departmental Council, together with 617 communes and groups of communes, set up a non-profit association, the Association pour la téléalarme du Nord (ATN), which was (...)

(see also, supra, "Unilateral Practices" column, obs. A. Wachsmann) Aut. conc. dec. no. 11-D-15 of 16 November 2011 relating to practices implemented by Sogarel in the sector of car parks for passengers at Lille airport The company Park and Fly, which operates a car park near Lille-Lesquin (...)

Aut. conc. dec. no. 12-D-03 of 23 January 2012 concerning a referral from the Polyclinique de Savoie relating to practices of the Association for the Use of the Artificial Kidney (AURAL-Lyon) in the sector of the treatment of chronic renal failure by dialysis in Haute-Savoie Seizure by the (...)

EC, 26 July 2011, Air France e.a., n° 329818 The Marseille-Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), which operates Marseille-Provence airport, opened France’s first terminal dedicated to "low-cost" airlines in 2006. The creation of this ’low cost’ terminal, known as MP2, which offers more (...)

Aut. conc. dec. no. 11-D-09 of June 8, 2011 concerning practices implemented by EDF and RTE in the electricity sector (See also, supra, "Unilateral Practices" column, obs. F. Marty and "Regulations" column, obs. E. Guillaume) The National Union of Independent Thermal Electricity Producers (...)

Cass. com, June 7, 2011, National Council of the College of Dentists, No. 10-12.038, "Santéclair" This decision of the Court of Cassation, rejecting the appeal brought by the National Council of the Order of Dental Surgeons (CNOCD) and five departmental councils against a decision of the Paris (...)

CAA Douai, 1st floor, 5 May 2011, SMEG, n° 09DA01802 In a dispute relating to the payment of State fees claimed by the major seaport of Le Havre from a company authorised to build and operate a silo for storing bulk cereals on the public domain of the port, the Administrative Court of Appeal of (...)

EC, Ref. order, 29 April 2011, DPSI, No. 348036 SARL DPSI asked the judge in charge of summary proceedings at the Conseil d’État to suspend, on the basis of Article L. 521-1 of the Code of Administrative Justice, an order of the Minister of Industry of 31 January 2011 amending the regulations (...)

CAA Paris, 1st floor, April 14, 2011, RATP, No. 10PA05734 It will be recalled that the Paris Administrative Court, in a judgment dated November 5, 2010, overturned the decisions of RATP’s Director to sign a public domain occupation agreement with the company Bolloré SA, owner of the titles (...)

CJEU, 3 March 2011, AG2R Prévoyance, case C-437/09 This decision, already commented on in this review (see "Agreements", obs. C. Sarrazin and "unilateral practices", obs. A.-L. Sibony), is of double interest to the "Public Sector" column. It further clarifies the contours of the concept of an (...)

CAA Bordeaux, 3rd ch., February 15, 2011, Prefect of the Haute-Garonne, nº 10BX01551 The Prefect of Haute-Garonne, acting as the general administrative police authority in the department, set the opening and closing hours of all establishments open to the public issuing alcoholic beverages by (...)

against Aut. conc., Dec. no. 10-D-24 of 28 July 2010 relating to practices implemented by the Caisse Nationale des Allocations Familiales (National Family Allowances Fund) The National Family Allowances Fund (CNAF), a national public institution of an administrative nature, manages the "family (...)

against Aut. conc., Dec. no. 10-D-23 of 23 July 2010 relating to practices implemented by the Gironde agricultural social mutual insurance fund (caisse de la mutualité sociale agricole de la Gironde) A winegrower brought a case before the Competition Authority against the Caisse de la mutualité (...)

Concordant Aut. opinion No. 11-A-02 of 20 January 2011 on the online gambling sector Law No. 2010-476 of May 12, 2010 on the opening to competition and regulation of the online gambling sector opened up the online gambling market to a limited extent, limited to horse betting, sports betting (...)

EC, 23 December 2010, Mutuelle centrale des finances, No 310775 Having been seised of an action for misuse of powers brought against Decree No 2007-1373 of 19 September 2007 on the participation of the State and its public institutions in the financing of supplementary social protection for (...)

Aut. conc. opinion No. 10-A-22 of 19 November 2010 concerning the project for the Bordeaux Urban Community to launch a contract for tramway trains as part of the extension of its network. More than ten years ago, the Bordeaux Urban Community (CUB) decided to provide the Bordeaux conurbation (...)

CAA Marseille, 5 October 2010, Commune de Mougins, n° 08MA00066 By an order dated 16 October 2002, the mayor of the commune of Mougins had prohibited, by virtue of his road traffic police powers, the movement of heavy goods vehicles on the Chemin des Romains, the only access to the (...)

Aut. conc., Dec. No. 10-A-20 of 29 September 2010 on the effects on competition rules of certain provisions concerning the project to build the Grand Paris public transport network The Greater Paris project aims to encourage, through the creation of a 130 km double cross-loop public passenger (...)

Aut. conc. dec. no. 10-D-24 of 28 July 2010 relating to practices implemented by the Caisse Nationale des Allocations Familiales (National Family Allowances Fund). The company ENFenCONFIANCE, which provides certain departments, under public service contracts, with services consisting of the (...)

Aut. conc. dec. no. 10-D-25 of 28 July 2010 on practices concerning access to CT and MRI scanners located at the Arcachon hospital centre. The Arcachon hospital centre, a public health establishment, hosts on its site a scanner which it owns and MRI equipment belonging to a health cooperation (...)

Aut. conc. dec. no. 10-D-23 of 23 July 2010 relating to practices implemented by the caisse de la Mutualité Sociale Agricole de la Gironde The Competition Authority, having received a complaint for abuse of a dominant position against the Gironde Mutualité sociale agricole de Gironde on the (...)

Aut. conc. dec. no. 10-D-18 of 14 June 2010 relating to practices implemented by the Pas-de-Calais General Council, the Groupement de défense sanitaire du bétail du Pas de Calais and the Groupement technique vétérinaire du Pas de Calais Articles L. 202-1 and R. 202-8 of the Code rural et de la (...)

Concise Aut. opinion No. 10-A-10 of 27 May 2010 on the introduction of the lawyer’s countersignature for private documents Following the conclusions of the Report on the Legal Professions resulting from the work of the commission chaired by Jean-Michel Darrois, the Government tabled a bill on (...)

Aut. conc. dec. no. 10-D-17 of 25 May 2010 on practices implemented on the market for competition pétanque boules The Fédération française de pétanque et jeu provençal (FFPJP) is a sports federation approved by the Minister responsible for sports on the basis of Articles L. 131-8 et seq. of the (...)

CAA Nantes, 2nd floor, 4 May 2010, EURL Photo Josse, n° 09NT00705 The Photo Josse agency, which specialises in the photography of works of art and which it distributes to publishers of school, artistic or historical books or magazines, has been refused permission by the mayor of Tours to (...)

Aut. conc. dec. no. 10-D-13 of 15 April 2010 on practices implemented in the handling sector for the transport of containers at the port of Le Havre Initiated at the beginning of the 1990s, the Port 2000 project should remedy the problems of saturation in the container port of Le Havre by the (...)

Concordant Aut. opinion No. 10-A-02 of 1 February 2010 on digital equipment in cinemas The development of digital cinema and the dematerialization of film distribution in cinemas herald a profound transformation of the film industry. The gradual replacement of the silver print, which is (...)

CA Paris, ch. 5-7, 19 January 2010, Conseil national de l’ordre des chirurgiens dentistes and others.v. Council, Dec. No. 09-D-07 of 12 February 2009 relating to a referral by Santéclair against practices implemented on the supplementary health insurance market It will be remembered that the (...)

Concordance No. 09-D-35 of 25 November 2009 on practices implemented in the emergency medical transport sector. The Competition Authority declares itself incompetent to deal with anti-competitive practices in the emergency medical transport sector, on the basis of the Aéroports de Paris and (...)

Concise Aut. opinion n° 09-A-50 of 8 October 2009 relating to a draft ordinance amending certain provisions of the code of cinema and the moving image; Order n° 2009-1358 of 5 November 2009 modifying the code of cinema and the moving image, JORF n° 258 of 6 November 2009, p. 19209 In recent (...)

Aut. conc. opinion No. 09-A-33 of 29 September 2009 on the terms and conditions of timber sales by the National Forestry Office (ONF) This opinion highlights the risks to competition that may result from the reform of administrative institutions decided in the context of the General Review of (...)

CA Paris, 11 September 2009, DKT International and others. v Aut. conc. dec. no. 09-D-26 of 29 July 2009 relating to an application for interim measures brought by DKT International in the sector of the take-back and recovery of household plastic packaging waste The Paris Court of Appeal, (...)

Aut. conc. opinion No. 09-A-45 of 8 September 2009 on the mechanisms for importing and distributing consumer products in the overseas departments. Following the demonstrations and general strikes against the "high cost of living" that paralysed Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion Island in (...)

EC Commission, IP/09/1226, 6 August 2009, Commission accepts commitments by Greece to ensure fair access to Greek lignite deposits Electricity production from lignite represents in Greece, the fifth largest lignite producer in the world and the second largest producer in the European Union (...)

Aut. conc. opinion No. 09-A-44 of 29 July 2009 on the project to implement a regular passenger transport service by river shuttles on the Paris b ief. The Syndicat des Transports d’Ile-de-France (STIF) has asked the Competition Authority to give its opinion on a project to extend the Voguéo (...)

Const. dec. no. 09-D-20 of 11 June 2009 on the situation of competition in the road and road maintenance sector in the Rhône-Alpes Region By this decision to dismiss the case, the Competition Authority points out that the provisions of Article L. 420-5 of the Commercial Code relating to (...)

ECJ, 7 May 2009, Antrop and Others v Conselho de Ministros and Others, Case C-504/07. The application of Council Regulation No 1191/69/EEC of 26 June 1969 on action by Member States concerning the obligations inherent in the concept of a public service in transport by rail, road and inland (...)

Twenty years after the famous Ville de Pamiers judgment handed down by the Tribunal des conflits (TC, 6 June 1989, SAEDE v. Ville de Pamiers, Rec. p. 292; AJDA, 1989, p. 431, chron. Honorat et Baptiste; p. 467, note by M. Bazex; D., 1990, p. 418, note by J.-J. Israël et somm. comm. p. 101 obs. (...)

ECJ, 26 March 2009, Selex Sistemi Integrati v Commission and Eurocontrol, Case C-113/07 P It will be recalled that on 12 December 2006 the Court of First Instance dismissed the action brought by Selex against a Commission decision refusing to classify the European Organisation for the Safety (...)

Conc. conc. dec. no. 09-D-10 of 27 February 2009 on practices implemented in the maritime transport sector between Corsica and the mainland This decision, commented on elsewhere in this review (see Chronique Pratiques unilatérales, note A. W., Concurrencesn° 2-2009), confirms the assessment made (...)

Concordant Consent, Dec. 09-D-07 of February 12, 2009 relating to a referral by Santéclair against practices implemented on the complementary health insurance market Santéclair offers a range of services to insurance companies, mutual insurance companies, provident institutions and brokers (...)

EC Comm, 27 November 2008, Press release IP/08/1793, France: elimination of the preference for the outgoing concession-holder in the case of hydroelectricity concessions The regime of hydroelectric concessions is set by the amended law of 16 October 1919 on the use of hydraulic energy. This (...)

CA Paris, 1st ch. H, 5 November 2008, CIPHA and others; against Cons. conc., dec. no. 07-D-28 of 13 September 2007 relating to practices implemented by the autonomous port of Le Havre, the Compagnie industrielle des pondéreux, the société havraise de gestion et de transport and the société Havre (...)

CA Paris, 1st ch. H, October 29, 2008, Edition Jean-Paul Gisserot and Minister of the Economy; against Cons. conc., Dec. n° 08-D-08 of April 29, 2008, practices in the sector of publishing and sale of tourism monographs It will be remembered that the Jean-Paul Gisserot publishing house, which (...)

Cons. conc. opinion n° 08-A-18 of 13 October 2008 relating to a draft decree on charges for the use of the railway network; Decree n° 2008-1204 of 20 November 2008 amending Decree n° 97-446 of 5 May 1997 relating to charges for the use of the national railway network and Decree n° 2003-194 of 7 (...)

Cons. conc. dec. n°08-D-18 of July 30, 2008 relating to towing activities by the autonomous port of Le Havre and the SNRH (French National Health Service) The withdrawal of the second proposal for a directive on market access to port services following the negative vote of the European (...)

CAA Bordeaux, July 15, 2008, Société Merceron TP, n° 07BX00373 With this decision, the Administrative Court of Appeal of Bordeaux is attempting to combine the solutions resulting from the opinion of the Société Jean-Louis Bernard Consultants (CE, Sect., avis cont.., 8 November 2000, Société (...)

Conc. conc. opinion n°08-A-13 of 10 July 2008 relating to a referral from the professional union UniCité concerning the intervention of local authorities in the field of cinemas. It should be remembered that the report on the application of competition law to cinematographic activities, (...)

Conc. conc. opinion no. 08-A-10 of 18 June 2008 on a request for an opinion submitted by the Fédération de la formation professionnelle (Vocational Training Federation) The Competition Council has given its second advisory opinion on the conditions of competition in the vocational training (...)

Concordant Consent, Dec. 08-D-11 of 19 May 2008 relating to a referral from the company Executive Relocations The collection and use of employers’ participation in the construction effort (PEEC), more commonly referred to as "1% housing", is based on a complex system built around the (...)

EC, 9 May 2008, Zeturf Ltd, No 287503 Is the dispute between Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) and the Maltese company Zeturf Limited, which operates an online betting site for horse races, about to find its epilogue? It will be recalled that the Court of Cassation annulled the judgment of the Paris (...)

Conc. conc. opinion n° 08-A-07 of 7 May 2008 on the economic organisation of the fruit and vegetable sector Within the agricultural markets, the fruit and vegetable market is characterised by its specific economic characteristics highlighted in the report by the Conseil d’analyse économique on (...)

Cons. conc. dec. no. 08-D-09 of 6 May 2008 relating to practices implemented in the funeral sector in Lyon and its suburbs The funeral industry has been the source of a large number of disputes before the Competition Council since the entry into force of the Act of 8 January 1993 abolishing (...)

ECJ, 10 April 2008, Ing. Aigner, Wasser-Wärme-Umwelt, GmbH v. Fernwärme Wien GmbH, case C-393/06 The Community rules on public procurement stemming from Directives 2004/17 and 2004/18 of 31 March 2004 are mainly addressed to contracting authorities, i.e. the State, regional and local (...)

The report submitted on 28 March 2008 to the Ministers of the Economy and Culture presents the conclusions of the mission on cinema and competition law entrusted on 25 September 2007 to Ms Anne Perrot, Vice-President of the Competition Council, and Mr Jean-Pierre Leclerc, Honorary Section (...)

ECJ, 18 December 2007, Commission v. Ireland, Case C-532/03 In ruling for the first time on the application of Community law on public procurement to ambulance transport, the Court sets a limit on the classification of public service contracts. Dublin City Council (DCC) manages the fire (...)

Conc. conc. opinion No. 07-A-12 of 11 October 2007 on the legislation on commercial equipment Consulted by the Minister of the Economy, the Competition Council in turn decides on the abolition or revision of legislation on commercial equipment. The "Royer" Act of 27 December 1973, the (...)

Cons. conc. dec. 08-D-01 of January 18, 2008 relating to the referral presented by Segard In 2005, the Centre Hospitalier Docteur Paul Gâche launched a call for tenders for the award of a public contract for assistance to the contracting authority for the construction of an establishment for (...)

ECJ, 18 December 2007, Asociación Profesional de Empresas de Reparto y Manipulado de Correspondencia v Administración General del Estado, Case C-220/06. This judgment at the confluence of regulatory law and Community law on public procurement provides useful clarifications on the implementation (...)

Cons. conc. dec. n° 07-D-28 of September 13, 2007 relating to practices implemented by the Port Autonome du Havre, the Compagnie Industrielle des Poids du Havre, the Société Havraise de Gestion et de Transport and the company Havre Manutention. The Société Générale Maritime (Sogema) had referred the (...)

Council Resolution, Dec. No. 07-D-27 of 31 July 2007 on practices implemented in the sector of continuing vocational training for job seekers in the Picardy Region This decision is a further application of the case law of the Tribunal des conflits on the division of powers between the (...)

Conc. conc. opinion No. 07-A-04 of 15 June 2007 on the possibility of reserving certain intermediate products for producers in an agricultural or food quality chain. This opinion gives the Competition Council an opportunity to recall the internal and Community case law on the delegation of (...)

CE, 5 June 2007, Corsica Ferries, n° 305280 After the Competition Council, it was for the Conseil d’État to rule again on the renewal of the delegation of maritime public service between Corsica and the port of Marseilles (J.-Ph. K., Le Conseil de la concurrence se prononcer partie sur l’offre (...)

Cons. conc. dec. no. 07-D-15 of May 9, 2007 relating to practices implemented in public procurement contracts relating to high schools in the Île-de-France region The Île-de-France public procurement affair has gained media renown thanks to its criminal aspect revealing the politico-financial (...)

EC, 25 April 2007, Fédération Nationale de l’Aviation Marchande (FNAM) and others, No. 291976 The conclusion on 6 February 2006 of an economic regulation contract between the State and ADP was the first significant application of the reform of the method of regulating airport public service (...)

Conc. conc. dec. no. 07-D-13 of 6 April 2007 on new requests for provisional measures in the maritime transport sector between Corsica and the mainland This decision of the Competition Council is just one more episode in the very turbulent case of the renewal of the public service delegation (...)

Cons. conc. dec. no. 07-D-10 of 28 March 2007 concerning a complaint against the Comité interprofessionnel du gruyère de Comté (Interprofessional Committee for Comté Gruyère) The FMJ company specialising in the production and maturing of Comté cheese referred to the Competition Council four (...)

Decree No. 2007-310 of 5 March 2007 on the national postal fund for territorial equalisation, JORF No. 56 of 7 March 2007, p. 4379 Decree No. 2007-448 of 25 March 2007 on the composition, powers and operation of the departmental commissions for territorial postal presence, JORF No. 74 of 28 (...)

Prem. Min, Circular of 28 February 2007 relating to the modernisation of the management of the State’s real estate assets, JORF No. 53 of 3 March 2007, p. 4040. The Prime Minister’s circular of 28 February 2007 on the modernisation of the management of the State’s real estate assets is part of (...)

Decree No. 2007-244 of 23 February 2007 on aerodromes belonging to the State and approving the standard specifications applicable to the concession of these aerodromes, JORF No. 48 of 25 February 2007, p. 3444. The air transport sector is undergoing a real transformation under the combined (...)

CE, 15 December 2006, Société Corsica Ferries, n° 298618 Conc. conc. dec. no. 06-MC-03 of 11 December 2006 on requests for provisional measures in the maritime transport sector between Corsica and the mainland Commission of the European Communities, 13 September 2006, Invitation to submit comments (...)

CFI, 12 December 2006, Selex Sistemi Integrati SpA v Commission, Case T-155/04. The legal nature of the activities of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) is the source of a new judgment that is instructive on the concept of economic activity. An action for (...)