Benoît Coeuré presents the 2023 annual report
On Monday 15 July, the Autorité de la concurrence presented its annual report to the press. Benoît Coeuré, President of the Autorité, looked back at the major cases of 2023 and set out the priorities for action for the months ahead.
Over the past year, the Autorité issued 302 opinions and decisions and handed down €167.6 million in fines. In merger control, a record 300 transactions were notified to the Autorité and 266 mergers were examined, with four cleared subject to commitments. In addition, the Autorité opened two in-depth reviews (Select Services Partner and Smartbox/Wonderbox).
In enforcement and its advisory role, the Autorité was active in many sectors of the economy – with a particular focus on the digital, retail and consumer goods sectors. For example, the Autorité fined three professional canning associations, the can manufacturers’ trade union and 11 companies for having implemented a collective strategy intended to prevent manufacturers in the sector from competing on the presence, or absence, of Bisphenol A in food containers.
The Autorité published several major opinions over the past year, including on competition in the cloud sector and land passenger transport, as well as more recently on electric vehicle charging infrastructure and generative artificial intelligence.
In 2023, the Autorité also published six opinions on the establishment of new notaries, commissioners of justice and lawyers at the French Administrative Supreme Court (Conseil d’État) and French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) and on draft codes of professional conduct.
Beyond its own achievements, the Autorité looks at the major issues and challenges ahead. Fully committed to defending purchasing power, the Autorité is also continuing to focus on sustainability, as illustrated by the publication of its informal guidance in the area of sustainability.