Market Intelligence

The French Competition Authority has issued a groundbreaking decision confirming that mergers falling below notification thresholds can be reviewed and sanctioned under anticompetitive agreement rules. This landmark ruling extends beyond previous abuse of dominance cases to encompass transactions between non-dominant companies, potentially exposing a broader range of deals to retrospective scrutiny years after completion.

The European Commission has adopted comprehensive Guidelines on exclusionary conduct under Article 102 TFEU, modernizing the framework for assessing abuses of dominant market positions. These Guidelines consolidate decisional practice and case law while introducing expanded approaches to objective justifications, including sustainability benefits and public interest considerations. How will these new principles reshape competition enforcement in technology markets and beyond?

We are delighted to share the eighteenth Bulletin Concurrence which aims to keep you up to date with the key developments in competition law over the second quarter of 2026.

The European Commission has cleared the Airbus/Air France joint venture in a landmark decision that marks the first time efficiency claims were assessed during Phase I merger review. While the transaction was ultimately approved without relying on these efficiencies due to lack of competitive concerns, the Commission's willingness to examine cost synergies, logistics benefits, and consumer advantages signals a potentially more receptive approach to efficiency arguments in future merger cases.

Nathalie Jalabert-Doury examines the most significant competition law developments from the first half of 2026 affecting the public works and construction sector. The analysis spans French and EU regulatory changes, including cartel fining decisions in overseas territories, antitrust damages litigation, merger control threshold adjustments, and a sectoral investigation into construction transport.

On 3 September 2026 the EU Commission published its long-awaited Guidelines on the application of Article 102 TFEU to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings (Guidelines)...