The French National Assembly and Senate have adopted the Economic Life Simplification Bill, which includes a significant increase in the merger control thresholds enforced by the Autorité de la concurrence. This change aims to alleviate the administrative load on businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while allowing the authority to focus its resources on more critical merger reviews.

Since the introduction of the current thresholds in 2004, there has been a notable increase in the number of merger notifications, with a 59% rise from 2010 to 2025. The existing thresholds had not been adjusted despite a 40% inflation rate and a 65% growth in nominal GDP, leading to a disproportionate increase in notifications that did not pose competition concerns.

With the new thresholds, it is estimated that 20-30% of current transactions will no longer require notification, significantly reducing the burden on around 800 companies, including many SMEs, over the past few years. This change will allow the Autorité to concentrate on more problematic mergers and predatory acquisitions, enhancing its efficiency.

The revised thresholds will come into effect following validation by the Constitutional Council and promulgation by the President, applying to all merger transactions notified after the specified date.