French Commercial code
In forceI. - The administrative authority responsible for competition and consumer affairs is the competent authority for imposing administrative fines to punish the breaches referred to in Title IV of this Book as well as failure to comply with the injunctive measures provided for in Article L. 470-1.
II. - The administration's action for the sanction of the breaches mentioned in I shall lapse after three years from the day on which the breach was committed if, within this period, no action has been taken with a view to investigating, establishing or sanctioning this breach.
III. - Breaches punishable by an administrative fine shall be recorded in a report, in accordance with the procedures set out in Article L. 450-2.
IV. - Before any decision is taken, the administration informs the accused person in writing of the sanction envisaged against him, informing him that he may acquaint himself with the documents in the file and be assisted by the counsel of his choice and inviting him to present, within sixty days, his written observations and, where appropriate, his oral observations.
After this period, the administrative authority may, by reasoned decision, impose the fine.
V.-The decision handed down by the administrative authority may be published on the website of this administrative authority and, at the expense of the person penalised, on other media.
The decision issued by the administrative authority pursuant to Article L. 441-16 is published on the website of this administrative authority and, at the expense of the person sanctioned, in a medium authorised to receive legal announcements chosen by the latter in the department in which it is domiciled. The decision may also be published, at the expense of the person concerned, in other media.
The administrative authority must have previously informed the person penalised, during the adversarial procedure set out in IV of this article, of the nature and methods of publication of its decision.
If the person penalised fails to comply with the publicity measure, the administrative authority may give the person formal notice to publish the decision under a daily penalty of €150 from notification of the formal notice until actual publication.
VI. - Where an administrative fine may be combined with a criminal fine imposed on the offender for the same acts, the total amount of the fines imposed shall not exceed the highest legal maximum.
VII. - Where, in the course of the same or separate proceedings, several administrative penalties have been imposed on the same offender for concurrent breaches, these penalties shall be enforced cumulatively.
VIII. - Documents collected and drawn up in connection with the investigation and establishment of a breach that has given rise to an administrative penalty procedure may only be communicated to the person who is the subject of the procedure or his representative.
IX. - The fine is recovered as in the case of debts unrelated to taxes and property.
X. - The detailed rules for the application of this article shall be laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.
