Chapter IV: Decisions and appeals.

The Minister responsible for the economy may enjoin undertakings to put an end to the practices referred to in Articles L. 420-1 to L. 420-2-2 and L. 420-5 or contrary to measures taken pursuant to l'article L. 410-3 of which they are the perpetrators when these practices do not concern facts covered by Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and provided that the turnover that each of them achieved in France during the last financial year for which the accounts have been closed does not exceed 50 million euros and that their combined turnover does not exceed 200 million euros.

The Minister for the Economy may also, under the same conditions, propose that they reach a settlement. The amount of the settlement may not exceed €150,000 or 5% of the last known turnover in France, whichever is lower. The terms of the settlement are set by decree in the Conseil d'Etat. The timely fulfilment of the obligations resulting from the injunction and the acceptance of the settlement extinguishes any action before the Autorité de la concurrence for the same facts. The Minister responsible for the economy shall inform the Autorité de la concurrence of any settlements reached.

The injunction referred to in the first paragraph of this article and the settlement referred to in the second paragraph may be publicised, under conditions laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.

In this case, the trader shall be informed, during the adversarial procedure prior to the injunction being issued, of the nature and terms of the planned publicity. The publicity is carried out at the expense of the trader who is the subject of the injunction or accepts the settlement.

It may not propose a settlement or impose an injunction where the same facts have previously been the subject of a referral to the Competition Authority by a company or body referred to in the second paragraph of Article L. 462-1, unless the Competition Authority has rejected the referral on the basis of the third paragraph of Article L. 462-8.

In the event of a refusal to compromise, the Minister responsible for the economy shall refer the matter to the Competition Authority. He shall also refer the matter to the Competition Authority in the event of failure to comply with the injunctions provided for in the first paragraph or with the obligations resulting from acceptance of the settlement.

The sums resulting from the settlement shall be paid to the Treasury and recovered in the same way as receivables unrelated to taxation and the domain.