In communities covered by Article 73 of the Constitution and the overseas collectivities of Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, and in accordance with Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Commission will take into account the economic power already held in the area by the company applying for a business licence. If its market share, calculated in terms of sales area, is likely to exceed 50% of the catchment area after the transaction, the commission may request the opinion of the Autorité de la concurrence.
When a departmental commission refers a matter to the Autorité de la concurrence, its decision is suspended until it has received the authority’s opinion, which, after receiving all the documents in the file, has a maximum of twenty-five working days to respond. In the absence of an opinion within this period, the commission may validly rule.