Merger Control In France And Two Blocking Decisions

I. THE SCOPE OF MERGER CONTROL IN FRANCE

The Autorité de la concurrence was invested with the power of blocking merger in 2009. The relevant provisions for merger control in France are Articles L.430-1 to L.430-10 and R.430-1 to R.430-10 of the French Commercial Code (FCC). The Autorité does not examine all mergers that take place in France. The Autorité review a merger when the following conditions are met:

For the general thresholds (Article L.430-2 I of the FCC):

• The total global pre-tax turnover of all the undertakings or groups of legal persons or individuals who are parties to the merger is greater than 150 million euros;
• The total pre-tax turnover generated in France by at least two of the undertakings or groups of legal persons or individuals concerned is greater than 50 million euros;