French Competition Law provides a comprehensive review of the French rules relating to competition: restrictive agreements, commercial negotiation, abuses of a dominant position, procedure and merger control.

French Competition Law

Introduced by the NRE Law, the simplified procedure, currently referred to in Article L. 463-3 of the Commercial Code, makes it possible to expedite the handling of a case by dispensing with the preparation of a report by the rapporteur général prior to the examination of the case by the Competition Authority. The decision to use the simplified procedure, taken at the discretion of the rapporteur général , may be based on the lack of appreciable effect of the practices, their lack of any gravity or the limited nature of the damage to the economy.

Initially, the parties had a time-limit of two months to submit their observations following the Statement of Objections. In the absence of a report, they only had one opportunity to present their comments in writing. In return, Article L. 464-5 capped the amount of the sanction that could be imposed at EUR 750,000.

The DDADUE Law  of 3 December 2020 amended Article L. 463-3 to provide that the rapporteur général may decide that the case will be examined without a prior report, even before the Statement of Objections, whereas previously the decision was taken at the time of the Statement of Objections. In this case, the Statement of Objections will have to specify the determining factors of the penalty incurred, so that the undertakings can examine them as soon as possible.

In addition, if the combined turnover of all the parties in France for the last fiscal year exceeds EUR 200 million and if at least one of the parties concerned so requests (within 30 days of the Statement of Objections), the time-limit for responding to the Statement of Objections may be extended from two to four months. The rapporteur général may, in the light of the comments of the parties to whom the objections are addressed, revise his position and decide to issue a report.

Finally, the DDADUE Law repeals Article L. 464-5 in order to meet the deterrence requirements of the ECN+ Directive. There is no longer a cap on the amount of the fine incurred since entry into force of the Ordinance of 26 May 2021 . The loss of this advantage was criticized by some undertakings, who argued that the application of the simplified procedure to their case constituted a violation of the principle of non-retroactivity of the more severe criminal law. The Competition Authority dismissed this complaint on the grounds that, until then, this procedure had not been a right for undertakings, but depended solely on the initiative of the rapporteur, and since, as the latter had opted for this procedure more than a year after the ceiling had been abolished, it had never been applied to them . Moreover, according to the Paris Court of Appeal, a company cannot claim that the adversarial principle was impaired by the use of the simplified procedure, insofar as it exercised its right to respond to the arguments set out in the Statement of Objections, after having been granted a one-week extension of the time limit for its response to the statement of objections, and was heard during the hearing before the Competition Authority .

CA Paris, 21 December 2017, LawLex201700002127JBJ, which states that Article L. 463-3 of the Commercial Code does not lay down any condition to which the rapporteur general's discretionary decision to have a case examined by the Competition Authority without a report would be subject.

Law No 2020-1508 of 3 December 2020 containing various provisions for adapting to European Union law (DDADUE) in economic and financial matters.

Competition Authority decision No 22-D-04 of 2 February 2022, LawLex202200000682JBJ; No 23-D-08 of 7 September 2023, LawLex202300011225JBJ.

Competition Authority decision No 23-D-15 of 29 December 2023, LawLex202400000233JBJ.

CA Paris, 27 March 2025, LawLex202500002441JBJ; Competition Authority decision No 21-D-26 of 8 November 2021, LawLex202100005760JBJ.

444. Simplified procedure