The Law of 24 December 2020[1] amended Article 705 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure[2], extending the scope of action of the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) to include criminal anti-trust offences provided under Article L.420-6 of the French Commercial Code[3]. This change now allows the PNF to prosecute antitrust violations independently of corruption-related offences. The first Judicial Public Interest Agreement (CJIP, comparable to a Deferred Prosecution Agreement) signed by the PNF including the offence of anti-competitive collusion, alongside corruption-related offences—highlights the complexity of criminal schemes involved in the award of public contracts. It reveals a network of economic and financial crimes particularly centered around collusive practices and corruption.

On February 10, 2025, the waste management company Paprec entered into a CJIP with the PNF, ending criminal proceedings for corruption, anti-competitive collusion, concealment of favoritism, and money laundering of tax fraud proceeds.

Through this CJIP, Paprec admitted to engaging in anti-competitive collusion between 2013 and 2022. This conduct was characterized by strategies designed to distort fair competition, including coordination with competitors by submitting intentionally uncompetitive bids to ensure the award of certain contracts[4]. Such practices, which amount to a de facto market-sharing arrangement, demonstrate a structural diversion of public procurement procedures.[5]

Paprec was also prosecuted for the offence of concealment of favoritism—an autonomous offence, but one that is intrinsically linked to the irregularity of public procurement. This offence applies to a company that has benefitted from the principal offence through the award of a contract, particularly where it has gained premature access to confidential tender information.[6]

The link between the granting of advantages to public decision-makers—such as financial support, hiring, or awarding contracts to associates—and the resulting contract awards supports the finding of a distortion of public procurement rules, through acts of corruption targeting individuals entrusted with a public service mission.[7]

In addition to the public interest fine of over 17 million euros, including a restitutive amount of over 4 million euros and a punitive amount of over 13 million euros[8], Paprec agreed to implement a compliance program under the supervision of the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) for a period of three years, for which it has allocated 1 million euros.[9] This framework reflects the authorities’ increasing determination to promote integrity in public procurement and compels companies to strengthen their compliance programs by integrating competition law concerns.

This agreement illustrates the PNF’s stated intention to actively address violations of competition law, particularly in the context of public procurement^[10]. It also reflects a broader trend towards increasing criminalization of breaches of public procurement rules, with growing use of general criminal law offences such as corruption, unlawful agreements, or concealment of favoritism, in order to address conduct aimed at distorting the awarding of public contracts.