Benoît Cœuré, president of the Competition Authority, in Paris, July 6, 2022. ERIC PIERMONT / AFP
It watches over you, consumers and businesses! And it pays off economically. This is the message that the President of the Competition Authority wanted to convey on Tuesday, July 11, by presenting his annual report. This document reveals, according to Benoît Cœuré, the “proactive role” an independent institution whose mission is to ensure the maintenance of an open and fair game of the market, and thus to protect the purchasing power of the French people as well as the proper functioning of societies.
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Eight months after his appointment, in January 2022, the former member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) achieved his first feat of arms, in September, after a “thorough review” : the rejection of the TF1-M6 marriage, which posed major competitive risks on the advertising market. While the fight against rising prices is primarily the responsibility of the ECB and governments, Mr. Cœuré believes that his institution has a role to play.
It recalls the responsibility of large groups, including “Rising profits play a major role in the current inflationary dynamics”. Their excessive market power has contributed more to inflation than wage increases in 2022-2023, as the ECB itself has denounced. He threatened them with sanctions in an interview with Parisian of June 17. Food is subject to “active standby” and energy groups have been sanctioned, in particular EDF and Gaz de Bordeaux.
Reports and whistleblowers
For its part, Essilor was also accused of obstructing the online sale of corrective lenses. Financial penalties, which vary greatly from one year to the next, only reflect part of the Authority’s action. With 468 million euros in fines for thirteen cases, 2022 is far from the 1.8 million in 2020, linked to a fine of 1.2 million against Apple.
Over the past ten years, the average annual amount (before recourse) is 712 million. Mr. Cœuré estimates that since 2011, the “gendarme” has made a gain of 20 billion in the economy. In addition, the number of ongoing cases (excluding mergers) has been divided by three in twenty years to fall to 104, a sign that it has reduced its investigation times.
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The institution has opened a reporting box on its site and will create one for whistleblowers. The overseas territories are the subject of particular vigilance, the remoteness of mainland France entailing “a particularly high cost of living” et “high concentration phenomena”. “Our action in the overseas territories remains one of the priorities”writes Mr. Cœuré.
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