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SubscribeThe French Competition Authority sanctions a concentration in the telemedicine sector as an abuse of a dominant position
On November 6, 2025, the Autorité de la Concurrence (hereinafter, "AdC") announced that it had imposed a fine of nearly €4.7 million on Doctolib, a telemedicine and appointment management platform, for abusing its dominant position in the telehealth and online medical appointment booking sectors. The decision has not yet been published, but the AdC has issued a press release with the details of the case —AdC Press Release, Nov. 6, 2025—.
The decision is particularly significant as it is the first time the AdC has applied Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) to sanction a concentration that did not meet the thresholds for mandatory notification to the competition authority as an abusive practice, in application of the doctrine of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the Towercast case —CJEU, Towercast, 16 March 2023, C-449/21—.
Doctolib, a dominant operator since 2017
According to the AdC, Doctolib maintained a market share “consistently above 50%” in the market for online medical appointment booking services between 2017 and 2022, eventually exceeding 90%. In the market for remote consultation technology solutions, its share has been over 40% since 2019, in a context marked by strong network effects and significant barriers to entry. On this basis, the FCA concluded that Doctolib held a dominant position in both markets.
Sanctioned practices: exclusivity, tying, and acquisition of the main competitor
Following a complaint from its competitor Cegedim Santé and a dawn raid in 2021, the AdC identified two sets of conduct contrary to Article 102 TFEU and Article L. 420-2 of the French Commercial Code
- Exclusivity and tying. Subscription contracts included exclusivity clauses that required healthcare professionals to use Doctolib's services exclusively. Furthermore, access to the remote consultation tool (Doctolib Téleconsultation) was conditional on prior subscription to the appointment booking service (Doctolib Patient), constituting a tying practice.
- Killer acquisition of MonDocteur. In 2018, Doctolib acquired its main competitor, MonDocteur, in a transaction that was not subject to review because it did not meet the notification thresholds set out in the French Commercial Code (Article L.430-2). However, the AdC considered that the transaction had a purely exclusionary purpose, reinforcing Doctolib's dominant position in the online medical appointment booking market. Indeed, internal documents seized during the inspection showed that the objective was to “eliminate the #1 competitor” and facilitate price increases, which did occur after the acquisition at a higher rate than anticipated, without resulting in a loss of customers or a slowdown in the company's growth.
The fine for the killer acquisition amounts to €50,000, compared to the €4.6 million imposed for the exclusionary practices. This reduced amount is due to the legal uncertainty that existed before the Towercast case, which was decided by the CJEU after the transaction had closed. The decision is not yet final.
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