Competition investigations, inspections and dawn raids
Dawn raids and competition investigations
9:10 a.m. A competition authority is at reception.
French Competition Authority, DGCCRF or European Commission: the investigators present their authorisation and the raid starts at once. Calling a lawyer does not suspend it.
Tuesday
09:08
Competition investigation. Three investigators are asking to see management. They are presenting an inspection authorisation.
They are asking for access to mailboxes and servers.
Your mailboxes are combed through.
Ten years of correspondence searched by keyword. A single message, out of context, can become incriminating evidence.
Questions, on the spot.
Managers, operational staff, assistants: anyone on the premises may be questioned, and every answer is recorded in the official report.
Rive Gauche Avocats assists every person interviewed, from senior management to operational staff.
Copies, inventory, seals.
Privileged documents must be identified and set aside on the spot, and every reservation recorded in the official report. This is where having a lawyer present counts.
InventoryEvery seized document is listed and may be used as evidence.
SealsBreaking them exposes the company to a separate penalty.
What you are exposed to.
Heavy penalties, very short deadlines, lasting consequences.
Fines
Set in proportion to the company’s turnover.
Obstruction
A separate penalty, even if no infringement is found.
Deadlines
Only a few days to challenge the raid and how it was conducted.
Damages
Customers and competitors may then claim damages.
Reputation
A raid may be made public. Customers, partners and markets hear about it.
That is why a lawyer must be at your side from the very first hour.
One call.
A whole team on it.
Every step under control.
The first call of the day should be to us.
Even well prepared, no company goes through that day alone. A Rive Gauche Avocats team is at your side, from the first hour to the official report.
How we step in
Where do you stand?
Choose your situation: we step in before, during and after the raid.
A competition compliance programme, so that a raid catches no one off guard.
What we do
- A competition compliance programme, designed for your organisation
- Audit of commercial practices and information exchanges
- Competition risk mapping
- A tailored raid protocol, site by site
- Training for exposed teams: reception, IT, management, sales
For your company
- Compliance that stands up to an authority
- Teams that know what to do, and what not to do
- A written protocol and a front-desk checklist
- Risks identified and addressed upstream
From your first call, a team takes charge of the raid, remotely and then on site.
What we do
- Analysis of the order or decision and its scope
- Monitoring of IT searches and copies
- Setting aside privileged documents
- Assistance for every person interviewed
- Reservations recorded in the official report
For your company
- Operations confined to what the authorisation allows
- Rights preserved for the rest of the procedure
- Management that stays in control of the business
Once the raid is over, the procedure begins.
What we do
- Analysis of the seized documents and the real exposure
- Challenges to the authorisation and to the conduct of the raid
- Protection of business secrets
- Answers to requests for information, preparation of interviews
- Defence strategy: challenge, settlement or leniency
For your company
- A clear view of the risk
- A defence strategy decided with full knowledge
- A defence built from day one
Test · competition investigations
01 of 03
Can investigators copy an entire mailbox, including messages unrelated to the investigation?
Recognition
A recognised competition law practice.
Rive Gauche Avocats advises companies on competition investigations, upstream and downstream, before the French Competition Authority, the DGCCRF and the European Commission, and assists them during dawn raids.
- Chambers France 2026Distribution / Commercial Contracts · Band 2
- Legal 500 EMEA 2026EU, Competition and Distribution
- Best Law Firms France 2027Competition / Antitrust Law · National Tier 2
- Leaders League 2026Antitrust · Strong reputation
Call back
A first, confidential conversation.
A first confidential conversation with the Rive Gauche Avocats competition team to take stock of your situation.
Frequently asked questions
What is a dawn raid?
An unannounced visit by investigators to a company’s premises, sometimes to its managers’ homes, to look for evidence of anticompetitive practices. It may be carried out by the French Competition Authority, the DGCCRF or the European Commission.
What should we do when the investigators arrive?
Call your lawyer at once, alert the legal department and delete nothing. Beyond that, everything depends on the authorisation presented, your sites and your teams: that is precisely what the protocol we draw up with you is for.
Can a raid be challenged?
Yes, both the authorisation and the conduct of the operations, within very short deadlines. Irregularities still need to have been noted on the day: that is one of the roles of the lawyer on site.
How can a company prepare?
With a protocol suited to its sites and training for the most exposed teams. We build them with you, based on your organisation and practices.
News and insights
Dawn raids in the agricultural inputs sector: knowing how to react at once
Leniency, challenges, timing: the questions facing raided companies.
Obstructing a competition investigation: a €900,000 fine for the Loste group
During a dawn raid you may stay silent or defer an answer, but you must not lie.
