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

The Competition Authority assumes jurisdiction where a concentration produces effects on the national territory, even if it originates elsewhere . For the rules of national law to apply, the merger must not only produce direct or indirect effects in France, it must also meet the threshold requirements as laid down in Article L. 430-2 of the Commercial Code, irrespective of the nationality or geographic location of the parties . A merger between a French public institution and an Italian group of  undertakings does not affect competition on the French territory insofar as their joint venture only operates on Italian markets, there is no risk that the parent companies will coordinate on a French market since they are not active on the same sectors in France, and as linguistic and cultural factors distinguish the products in question . 

Since the LME Law, merger control in the overseas departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Reunion, Mayotte) and the overseas collectivities (Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy) and in the Wallis and Futuna Islands, is the subject of specific provisions regardless of the sector in which the concentration is realized. On the other hand,  Book IV of the Commercial Code remains inapplicable to two overseas collectivities, New Caledonia and French Polynesia, which have adopted local competition laws . 

Competition Council opinion No 91-A-09 of 15 October 1991, LawLex200200002034JBJ.

Competition Council opinion No 00-A-27 of 28 November 2000, LawLex200200002088JBJ.

Competittion Authority decision No 10-DCC-146 of 29 October 2010, LawLex201000001399JBJ.

Polynesian competition law - which is modelled on that of the metropolitan France - is derived from the autonomous Polynesian "laws of the country" (Loi du pays) No 2015-2 of 23 February and 2015-4 of 14 April 2015 supplemented by Ordinance No 2017-157 of 9 February 2017, which extends and adapts to Polynesia certain provisions of Book IV of the Commercial Code relating to competition investigation and competition sanctions. Caledonian competition law - which institutes longer deadlines than under the French metropolitan merger control rules - was introduced by the Law of 24 October 2013 relating to competition in New Caledonia as well as by the Law of 24 April 2014 on the establishment of the New Caledonian Competition Authority and amending Book IV of the legislative part of the Commercial Code applicable in New Caledonia. 

Scope ratione loci 

Merger control applies to any merger between two or more undertakings. The concept of an undertaking, within the meaning of the rules of competition law, includes any entity that carries on an economic activity, regardless of its legal status or method of financing . A public distribution company , a provident institution  or an undertaking under liquidation management   are subject to merger control. The acquisition of control must however result in the creation of a single economic entity. This is not the case of the acquisition of joint control of an undertaking by two individuals not controlling either company at the time of the operation .

Court of Cassation, 12 July 1993, LawLex200200003080JBJ and LawLex200200002880JBJ; Competition Authority revised guidelines of 23 July 2020, pt. 17.

Cons. d'Ét., 11 July 2001, LawLex200200002110JBJ.

Minister of the Economy's letter of 21 October 2002, LawLex200300000581JBJ.

Minister of the Economy's letter of 24 June 2004, LawLex200500003983JBJ.

Competition Authority decision No 10-DCC-15 of 18 February 2010, LawLex201000000304JBJ; 24 February 2010, LawLex201000000421JBJ.

French Competition Law

532. Scope ratione loci

533. Scope ratione personae