{"id":888,"date":"2026-08-30T21:17:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T19:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanz-avocat.com\/?p=888"},"modified":"2026-11-01T01:51:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T23:51:28","slug":"merger-control-below-the-thresholds-but-soon-within-reach-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanz-avocat.com\/index.php\/en\/2026\/08\/30\/merger-control-below-the-thresholds-but-soon-within-reach-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Merger Control: Below the Thresholds, but Within Reach in France"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the recent <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sanz-avocat.com\/index.php\/en\/2026\/08\/30\/merger-control-new-notification-thresholds-applicable-in-france\/\">increase in French merger control notification thresholds<\/a><\/strong>, discussions continue regarding the possible introduction of a mechanism allowing the review of transactions that fall below those thresholds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Reflections that the French Competition Authority no longer hesitates to back up with deterrent enforcement actions under the rules prohibiting anticompetitive practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-x-large-font-size\">What is the objective?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">As highlighted in its <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autoritedelaconcurrence.fr\/fr\/publications\/rapport-annuel-2025\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.autoritedelaconcurrence.fr\/fr\/publications\/rapport-annuel-2025\">2025 Annual Report<\/a><\/strong>, published in July 2026, the French Competition Authority continues to advocate the introduction of a <strong>call-in power<\/strong> enabling it to review certain transactions that are not subject to mandatory notification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The aim is to prevent acquisitions involving businesses that currently generate little turnover but have significant competitive potential from escaping merger control scrutiny, particularly in the <strong>digital, healthcare and biotechnology sectors<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What would be the criteria?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Following the public consultation conducted in 2025, the Authority has expressed a preference for a targeted and proportionate mechanism based on several cumulative criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">an identifiable turnover threshold;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">a sufficient nexus with France;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">the existence of a competition concern; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">short intervention deadlines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What legal basis would be required?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The introduction of such a mechanism would require an amendment to the French Commercial Code. The Authority has already indicated that, should such reform be enacted, it would publish guidelines setting out the conditions for the exercise of its call-in power in order to enhance legal certainty and predictability for businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What would be the implications for M&amp;A transactions?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">If adopted, the mere fact that an acquisition falls below the notification thresholds would no longer be sufficient to rule out the risk of prior regulatory review in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">For transactions likely to have a significant impact on competition, particularly the acquisition of an <strong>innovative, emerging or rapidly growing company by an already powerful market player<\/strong>, the possibility of a call-in review would need to be factored into the transaction timetable from the very outset of the merger control assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">That said, France would not be acting in isolation. Similar risks already exist internationally: <strong>ten Member States of the European Economic Area<\/strong> have mechanisms allowing the review of certain concentrations falling below the ordinary notification thresholds (<strong>Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden<\/strong>), while several other jurisdictions are also considering adopting comparable regimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In the meantime?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The French Competition Authority (the \u201cAuthority\u201d) continues to rely on its enforcement powers under the rules prohibiting anticompetitive practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Two emblematic cases, still isolated, but held up as a deterrent to discourage companies from implementing transactions liable to distort competition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The DOCTOLIB case<\/strong> (<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autoritedelaconcurrence.fr\/en\/press-release\/autorite-fines-doctolib-eu4665000-abusing-its-dominant-position-online-medical\">Decision No. 25-D-06 of 6 November 2025<\/a><\/em>), in which the Authority fined the platform for abusing its dominant position by acquiring its competitor MonDocteur, a transaction that was not subject to merger notification because the relevant thresholds were not met. The Authority found that this constituted a predatory acquisition through which Doctolib, already holding a dominant position, sought to eliminate its main competitor and foreclose the online medical appointment booking market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">As a result, the Authority found Doctolib guilty of an abuse of dominance on that basis alone, although the fine imposed for this infringement remained symbolic (\u20ac50,000), reflecting the absence of precedents in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The DRAPKOC case<\/strong> (<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autoritedelaconcurrence.fr\/en\/article\/treatment-and-disposal-potentially-infectious-medical-waste-la-reunion-first-time-autorite\">Decision No. 26-D-10 of 22 October 2026<\/a><\/em>), in which the Authority sanctioned both the buyer and the seller under the rules prohibiting anticompetitive agreements in connection with Drapkoc&rsquo;s acquisition of sole control over Point Net in the healthcare waste management sector on R\u00e9union Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">On what grounds?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The Authority considered that the parties should have known that the transaction would create a monopoly in the market for the treatment of infectious healthcare waste and strengthen their market position in the collection and transportation of such waste, thereby placing customers (healthcare waste producers, hospitals, and waste collection and transportation operators) in a position of dependency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">They had taken no measures to mitigate the deterioration of competition resulting from their transaction.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In short, they should have proactively approached the Authority and offered commitments \u2014 but under what procedural framework? (<em>See below.<\/em>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">In both cases, the penalties imposed remained symbolic to reflect the absence of precedents in France (\u20ac50,000 for Doctolib and a \u20ac1 fine for each of the buyer and seller in the Drapkoc case).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">But the real message lies in the statement made by the President of the Authority accompanying the press release in the Drapkoc case:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cThis decision sends a clear message to businesses: a merger that is not subject to notification but produces anticompetitive effects falls within the scope of competition law. Even though cases involving abuses of dominance or unlawful agreements should remain exceptional, companies must take this risk into account before implementing their transactions: falling below the notification thresholds does not confer immunity where competition is significantly harmed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What can companies do in practice?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">In the absence of a procedure allowing companies to notify below-threshold transactions, they are left to conduct their own competition assessment and face a number of unsatisfactory options if they identify a risk of significant harm to competition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong><em>Act on their own<\/em>:<\/strong> abandon the transaction or, where possible, seek to adjust its scope to limit the risks of harm to competition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong><em>\u201cPlace their trust\u201d in the Authority<\/em><\/strong> by proactively approaching it <strong>on an informal basis<\/strong> to present the transaction and discuss their assessment and the measures they are considering. However, this approach offers no guarantees, as it falls outside any procedure formally governed by law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Invite the Authority to <strong>\u201cstretch the scope\u201d of the procedure for the<\/strong> <em><strong>\u201cpreliminary assessment of competition concerns\u201d<\/strong><\/em> provided for in Articles L. 464-2(I) and R. 464-2 of the French Commercial Code. This procedure requires proceedings to have been initiated before the Authority, but the Authority may open proceedings on its own initiative. It allows the Authority&rsquo;s investigative services, before any statement of objections is issued, to (i) formally notify the undertakings suspected of anticompetitive practices of a preliminary assessment of the practices concerned, and (ii) accept commitments offered by those undertakings to address the identified concerns, after giving third parties at least one month (or a shorter period with the undertakings&rsquo; agreement) to submit their observations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">As a preliminary step to the preceding option, consider approaching the Authority through the potentially hazardous <strong><em>leniency procedure<\/em><\/strong> to obtain immunity. This would, however, presuppose that the parties can be confident that the Authority does not already have information about the transaction, which appears unlikely. The procedure is also burdensome and may have significant implications for the companies concerned. It is therefore an option to be used with caution and contemplated only in extreme circumstances, where the transaction has already been implemented, the parties have other infringements to report besides the transaction itself, and market reactions raise concerns that the matter may be brought to the Authority\u2019s attention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Updated on 31.10.2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite the recent increase in French merger control notification thresholds, discussions continue regarding the possible introduction of a mechanism allowing the review of transactions that fall below those thresholds. Reflections that the French Competition Authority no longer hesitates to back up with deterrent enforcement actions under the rules prohibiting anticompetitive practices. What is the objective? [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-competition-law-issues-in-ma"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Below-threshold mergers in France : Issues - SANZ | AVOCAT<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Below-threshold mergers in France : Issues and proposed mechanisms to strengthen scrutiny of these transactions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sanz-avocat.com\/index.php\/en\/2026\/08\/30\/merger-control-below-the-thresholds-but-soon-within-reach-in-france\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Below-threshold mergers in France : Issues - 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