COMPETITION • FRENCH LAW • PRICE TRANSPARENCY
Article L. 470-1 of the Commercial Code, which stems from the Hamon Law of 17 March 2014 on consumer protection, allows authorized agents within the meaning of Article L. 450-1, II, “after an adversarial procedure, [to] enjoin any professional, by giving him/her a reasonable period of time, to comply with his/her obligations, to cease any unlawful action or to remove any unlawful clause”. The law then confers on the “administrative authority in charge of competition and consumer affairs” the power to impose “administrative fines for the breaches set out in Title IV”, as well as for failure to comply with the injunctive measures. Where the professional has not complied with an injunction “for an infringement or a failure punishable by an administrative fine” within the time-limit set, the Administration may impose an administrative fine of up to EUR 3,000 for a natural person and up to EUR 15,000 for a legal entity. The decision issuing the injunction may be challenged before the Minister of the Economy by the person who is the subject of the injunction, this recourse being exclusive of any other hierarchical recourse (Commercial Code, Art. R. 470-1).
