The French Competition Authority (FCA) is currently considering
a further revision of the 2001 French leniency program, which has
already been the subject of two procedural notices in 2006 and
2009. The FCA sought the opinions of competition law practitioners
and companies to determine whether areas of the program could be
improved. The responses to the study contained some strong
criticism, but also some surprises.
The bulk of negative opinions centered on the amount of
"red tape," the overall legal uncertainty of the outcome
of the leniency application, and the excessive length of the
procedure. Nevertheless, a substantial 67 percent of respondent
practitioners considered that the French leniency program was
satisfactory compared to the programs of other national competition
authorities (NCA). As far as respondent companies were concerned,
it was the uncertainty in obtaining a satisfactory reduction of
fines and, again, the cumbersome procedure before the FCA
