Preliminary ruling on constitutionality – Withdrawal of a merger clearance: The French Constitutional Council upholds the constitutionality of the Competition Authority’s power to withdraw merger clearance decisions and of its internal organization (Canal Plus)

*This article is an automatic translation of the original article in French, provided here for your convenience. Read the original article. Constitutional Council, Decision No. 2012-280 QPC of 12 October 2012 In a decision dated October 12, 2012 (Cons. const., decision no. 2012-280 QPC of October 12, 2012), the French Constitutional Court confirmed the priority constitutionality question (hereinafter, "QPC") raised by Canal Plus Group (hereinafter, "Canal Plus") and Vivendi Universal (hereinafter, "Vivendi", parent company of Canal Plus).) the constitutionality of the provisions of the French Commercial Code conferring on the French Competition Authority (hereinafter the "Authority") the power to withdraw a merger authorization, which the Authority first used in its Canal Plus/TPS