The New French Competition Authority

Originally Published 2^nd March 2009

On 13 November 2008, the French Government adopted a sweeping reform of the competition regime in France¹. The reform takes effect today following the first meeting of the new French competition authority, and brings about three key changes to the French competition regime:

• the creation of the Autorité de la concurrence ("the Authority") to replace the Conseil de la concurrence ("the Council");

• the new Authority will centralize most of the powers and resources previously shared between the Ministry of Economy and the Council, and will be responsible for merger control in France;

• the Authority will have enhanced powers in the retail sector.