Targeted call in power: The French Competition Authority's expansion of powers in merger control

Noting the consequences of the Illumina/Grail judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of 3 September 2024, the French Competition Authority (FCA) undertook to identify the existing or necessary tools to ensure that no merger, including those that are not subject to prior notification, would harm competition in France.

As part of this process, in January 2025, the FCA launched a public consultation to gather stakeholders’ observations which closed on 16 February 2025. Two options that would complement the existing legal framework were submitted for public consultation:

1. a targeted call-in power by the FCA, based on quantitative and qualitative criteria, similar to frameworks already in place in ten Member States of the European Economic Area (EEA) (Option 1); or
2. a new mandatory notification criterion for certain companies identified through previous decisions as holding a degree of market power (Option 2).

Taking into account the main contributions of the public consultation and the experience from ten Member States of the EEA which apply similar provisions, the FCA is continuing its work to introduce a call-in power based on clear criteria for companies and their advisors, including:

1. a turnover threshold that can be easily assessed by the companies concerned;
2.  a nexus to the French territory, to prevent mergers that would have no impact on the French territory from falling within the scope of the framework;
3.  a criterion for identifying a risk to competition on the French territory;
4.  time limits for implementing the call-in power, which are clearly defined and short enough to ensure the predictability required by companies.

Should such a mechanism be adopted, the FCA also undertakes to publish guidelines specifying the practical details of its implementation, such as the conditions under which a concentration would be likely to raise competition issues that justify the use of the FCA call-in power.

In the coming months, the FCA will define the outlines of this new framework, to ensure that it enables effective control of potentially problematic transactions that do not exceed the current notification thresholds, and that it responds to the main concerns expressed by stakeholders in the public consultation. 

The FCA aims to submit a proposal to French public authorities in the course of 2025 with the aim of creating a call-in power, i.e. Option 1.