Introduction | French Competition Law () • Livv

1. Historical background

Competition law is in some aspects anticompetitive. The courts have in effect always tried to avoid competitive excesses. The theory of unfair competition thus protects undertakings against competitors seeking, through unfair practices, to poach …

2. NRE Law

Those provisions were modified by the “NRE” Law ("Nouvelles régulations économiques") on new economic regulations of 15 May 2001 . This law, which brought about an overall reform of French competition law, came five years after the Galland Law of 1 …

3. Dutreil Law

The law on restrictive practices, which was characterized by a large number of automatic or “per se” offenses was reformed in 2005 by the Dutreil Law . Although based on excellent intentions, the text still remained too interventionist. The …

4. Chatel Law

Since the Dutreil Law of 2 August 2005, the French government has attempted to switch from an interventionist to a free market system but this has proved to be a tricky process. The Chatel Law of 3 January 2008 attempted to reverse State …

5. LME Law and competition ordinance

The LME Law for the Modernization of the Economy ("loi de modernisation de l'économie") of 4 August 2008 and the Competition Ordinance of 13 November 2008 brought about a new overall reform. The law again attempted to tackle the lack of …

6. Hamon Law

The Hamon Law of 17 March 2014 on consumer protection ("loi relative à la consommation") does not bring about any major reform to the competition law as the LME Law did. The Hamon Law has brought significant changes to the areas of restrictive …

7. Macron Law

The Macron Law for growth, activity and equality of economic opportunities ("loi pour la croissance, l'activité et l'égalité des chances économiques") , which was presented as intending to loosen the regulatory burdens placed on businesses, on the …

8. Sapin II Law

Law 2016-1691 of 9 December 2016 , known as the Sapin II Law, has a threefold aim: transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernization of the economy. In order to address the issue of excessively long payment terms, the Law increases …

9. EGalim Laws 1 to 3, Ordinance of 24 April 2019 and transposition of EU directives.

Law No 2018-938 of 30 October 2018, known as the EGalim Law has five main components: - a reinforced contractual framework in agricultural matters; - the raising of the resale below cost threshold and the regulation of promotions for food products …