France Report 1 France Ii Actions for Damages -status Quo

To this date, there have been few reported cases of claimants bringing actions for damages directly before French courts, in case of infringement of EC competition rules prohibiting anti-competitive practices. Often, claimants prefer to lodge a claim first with the competition authorities in order for the alleged behaviour to be proven and declared unlawful, and then, go to courts in order to be awarded damages on the basis of the decision of the competition authority. Another reason why there have been few reported cases may be that claimants might reach a settlement before the case is heard by the judge.