Franklin is pleased to share the fifth edition of its newsletter dedicated to key developments in competition, distribution and consumer law, as well as foreign direct investment (FDI) control and foreign subsidies control, including:
- Antitrust and abuse of a dominant position: The Commission issued statements of objections over alleged coordination of future price increases in construction chemicals, while the French Competition Authority imposed interim measures requiring Meta to negotiate in good faith with press publishers and agencies over neighbouring rights.
- Digital regulation: The Commission fined AliExpress €550 million under the DSA for failures relating to risks from illegal, dangerous or counterfeit products, and Google €890 million under the DMA for self-preferencing on Google Search and anti-steering restrictions on Google Play.
- Merger control: Franklin advised the Caillé and IBL groups on the conditional clearance of their joint acquisition of Caillé Grande Distribution and Make Distribution in La Réunion. The French Competition Authority also conditionally cleared the Euralis-Maïsadour merger.
- Distribution and restrictive trade practices: France adopted new rules affecting commercial negotiations and restrictive practices in the agri-food sector, while the Paris Court of Appeal recharacterised an Orange distribution agreement as a commercial agency agreement.
- Consumer law: Since August 11ᵗʰ, 2026, commercial telephone canvassing is prohibited in principle without prior consent, while Member States were required to transpose and apply the EU right-to-repair rules by July 31ˢᵗ, 2026, although France has not yet done so.
- Foreign subsidies and investment control: The Commission’s first FSR review confirmed that the regime is broadly fit for purpose while considering targeted simplifications, and launched its first formal obstruction procedure under the FSR against Temu. France also broadened the scope of its 10% FDI screening threshold for certain French companies listed on foreign markets.
- Focus on French enforcement: The French Competition Authority published its opinion on AI agents, identifying competition risks in a highly concentrated sector, and presented its 2025 annual report and priorities for the coming months.
