The Doctolib decision: for the first time the French Competition Authority fines a below-threshold transaction under abuse of dominance provisions

For the first time, the French Competition Authority (‘FCA’) fined a company for acquiring a competitor on the basis that this was an abuse of its dominant position. Even though this acquisition did not meet French merger control thresholds, and therefore was not subject to prior merger control review, the FCA fined Doctolib in a decision dated 6 November 2025 for its 2018 acquisition of MonDocteur, a rival also active on the French market for online medical appointment booking services (the ‘Doctolib decision’).1 Doctolib is a company headquartered in France. Since 2013, it has notably been active in the market defined for the first time by the FCA as the French market for online medical appointment booking services (via its Doctolib Patient offering). Doctolib offers services to both patients and healthcare professionals. At the time of the acquisition, Doctolib was still a start-up in an emerging market. Nevertheless, the FCA sustained that Doctolib held a dominant position on the narrowly defined market for online medical appointment booking services, with market shares allegedly exceeding 50 per cent, and some years even 90 per cent.