Johanne Peyre : The challenges of a small, young jurisdiction in applying competition law

With a small population of 300,000, which is scattered over more than 100 islands in the southern Pacific Ocean, and relatively high barriers to external trade, French Polynesia is the archetype of a small economy. Such economies are known to pose significant challenges for competition policy. Mainly, the size of the economy implies that in most markets, only a small number of firms can operate efficiently. Yet such concentration dampens competition and reduces allocative efficiency. Are you experiencing such challenges, and how do you deal with them ? A high degree of concentration is indeed a common phenomenon in small market economies (SMEs), even more so in island economies. As you rightly point out, only a small number of economic actors can operate efficiently, and there is also a