27 February 2008: Case pending in the sector of cleaning products
Since its creation the Conseil de la concurrence has always refused to publish information on cases under investigation: this line of action has always been respected and is justified by the principle of presumption of innocence for potentially suspected companies and by the concern for preserving the efficiency of procedures led by the French competition authority.
In the case mentioned earlier today by Le Figaro, as in cases previously mentioned by the same newspaper, the Conseil has kept this line.
However, according to the growing number of information released by the press concerning competition cases in progress and which are not issued by the Conseil, the institution intends to open the possibility to increase its transparency duty towards the general public and consumers. The Conseil will give information concerning the opening of procedures, following the example of the European Commission and other national competition authorities, according to methods which guarantee the presumption of innocence.