COMPETITION • FRENCH LAW • RESTRICTIVE AGREEMENTS
Only distinct economic entities able to operate autonomously on the market can be held liable for anticompetitive agreements. Therefore, without commercial autonomy vis-à-vis the principal, a commercial agent cannot be guilty of a practice of boycott in concertation with the latter. On the other hand, an agent is an undertaking subject to cartel law if it is engaged in an independent activity and does not form an economic unit with the principal. This is the case if he bears a significant part of the financial risks and freely determines his own commercial strategy.
