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Business practices
Should the company affected by anti-competitive behavior prove its harm?
Publié le 07 avril 2025 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The harm resulting from an anti-competitive practice must be proven. The Court of Cassation said so in a February 26, 2025, judgment published in the Bulletin.
2 businesses were condemned by the Autorité de la concurrence for having implemented an anti-competitive cartel (customer allocation and tariff coordination). A competing business that considers itself wronged by the cartel is taking one of the two businesses to court.
The Court of Appeal dismisses the motion. In its view, the applicant business does not demonstrate that the anti-competitive cartel directly affected its activity. She's filing a cassation appeal.
The Court of Cassation upholds the judgment on appeal on the ground that the applicant business does not adduce evidence that the anti-competitive cartel caused it harm. It states that anti-competitive behavior ‘does not necessarily lead to injury’ to companies in the relevant market.
Thus, a business claiming to have suffered from an anti-competitive practice must prove that it has suffered harm.