On 3 November 2025, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) issued Decision No. 25-D-05, imposing sanctions totaling €7.6 million on the Parfait Group for failing to comply with the commitments undertaken in connection with its acquisition of the La Batelière hypermarket and shopping center in Martinique.
In December 2022, the Authority had authorized the Parfait Group’s acquisition of the Géant Casino La Batelière hypermarket and the adjoining shopping center (Decision No. 22-DCC-254), subject to several commitments intended to mitigate the anti-competitive risks identified in the food-dominated retail markets of the Fort-de-France plain area, which includes the Schœlcher, Fort-de-France, and Le Lamentin conurbation. The group was required to divest the hypermarket’s business assets to a competitor by 22 September 2023, to preserve the value of both the hypermarket and the shopping center until the divestment took place, and to cooperate fully with the agent appointed to monitor compliance with these obligations.
The Authority found that the Parfait Group failed to complete the divestment within the required timeframe. Although the Sainte Claire Group, operating under the Ecomax brand, had been identified and approved as a suitable buyer, the Parfait Group only concluded the sale on 9 September 2025, nearly two years after the deadline. The Authority noted that this delay was largely attributable to the Parfait Group’s conduct. Despite presenting several potential buyers, the group failed to exercise due diligence and did not provide the necessary information to candidates wishing to submit a bid, thereby impeding the completion of the divestment process.
In addition, the Parfait Group did not fulfil its obligation to preserve the value of the hypermarket and the shopping center. A site inspection revealed that both assets had significantly deteriorated, diminishing their commercial and operational value and undermining the attractiveness of the divested business. This decline, according to the Authority, hindered the future buyer’s ability to swiftly relaunch the hypermarket’s operations and restore competitive dynamics in the affected market.
The Authority also established that the Parfait Group had failed to cooperate with the monitoring agent, obstructing the latter’s work during both the supervision phase and the execution of the asset sale. This is the first time the Authority has sanctioned a company for failing to cooperate with a trustee in a merger control procedure, marking a significant development in its enforcement practice.
The Authority recalled that commitments attached to merger authorizations are binding obligations of result, not merely obligations of means. By failing to divest the hypermarket within the prescribed period, the Parfait Group deprived Martinican consumers of the benefits of renewed competition and a diversified retail offering. Moreover, by neglecting to preserve the value of the assets and by obstructing the monitoring process, the group delayed the reopening of the La Batelière hypermarket under new ownership and distorted competition by limiting consumer choice in the Fort-de-France area.
In an unprecedented decision, the Authority imposed three separate sanctions for distinct breaches of commitments within the same ruling. It fined the Parfait Group €4.5 million for failure to comply with the divestment commitment, €2.5 million for failure to preserve the value of the assets, and €600,000 for failure to cooperate with the monitoring agent, for a total of €7.6 million. The Authority emphasized that any breach of commitments attached to merger authorizations constitutes a serious infringement of economic public order, as it undermines the balance that justified conditional approval of the merger.
The Authority also recalled previous precedents, such as the Altice/SFR cases in 2016 and 2017 (Decisions No. 16-D-07 and No. 17-D-04), where it sanctioned failures to meet merger-related commitments. However, Decision No. 25-D-05 is the first instance in which the Authority has imposed multiple sanctions in a single decision for separate and autonomous breaches.
