Irony of history The 10 became daily at the World Cup

Arbitration was made one year after the end of the game no one between the two sports dailies "Sports today" and "Le 10 Sport": the Court of appeal of Paris made on 17 June an order to stop a procedure from the authority of competition launched against the Group Amaury. The editor of "The team" was suspected of having abused its dominant position to force "The 10 Sport". Launched in November 2008 by Michel Moulin, this new title was hunting on the land of the great sports daily. Amaury had then counter-attacked with "Today Sport", a daily based on the same concept of low cost than "10" (tabloid to 50 cents). It was followed a merciless war between the two titles marked by charges of plagiarism and unfair competition of Michel Moulin. The pattern of the "10 Sport" was finished by throwing the sponge in March 2009 by folding its weekly newspaper... but without forgetting to lodge a complaint against Amaury for "interference with free competition".

The competition authority had then launched on May 12, 2009, a series of spectacular searches on the premises of "The team", "Parisien" and "Today Sport". Investigators were looking for documents that could corroborate accusations of Michel Moulin from Amaury: pressure on kiosquiers to not disseminate "The 10", advertising couplings between "Today Sport" and "The team" to evict the newcomer, etc.

But Amaury had appealed to quash the decision of justice authorizing these searches. Last Thursday, the President of the Chamber of control of the Court of appeal of Paris was therefore purely and simply set aside the order of the judge who authorized the Constable of the competition to visit the offices of Amaury. He found that the presumptions of the competition authority were not sufficient to justify these searches, the judge cannot be satisfied with "likelihood of presumptions."

"In self-defense".

And to the great satisfaction of the Group Amaury, he found that the launch of "Sports today" was not an anti-competitive Act: "an enterprise of a dominant position is entitled to defend or expand its market share when it is faced with the arrival of a competitor" as his behaviour is "fair" and legitimate. What was the case in the Court of appeal. As a result, operations of searches conducted by the competition authority have been cancelled and the documents seized must be returned. According to the law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher who advises Amaury, "this cancellation destroys the procedure conducted against the hastily Amaury almost exclusively on the basis of the statements made by the complainant."

But the competition authority did not appreciate this time of the Court of appeal: it goes to appeal in cassation against the decision, believing apparently having found what to continue its investigation against Amaury. It should argue that the argument of the particular sensitivity of news organizations to searches on the debate on the protection of journalists sources does not take this purely competitive folder. An analysis shared by Alain Ronzano, lawyer at the CCIP. Allowing these searches, "the judge sought in no way to be offensive to the sacrosanct freedom of the press and still less to the rights of journalists to protect the secrecy of sources".

This decision comes while "Today Sport" has disappeared from the newsstands a year. Amaury arrested charges July 1, 2009, three months after the package from the 'Sport '10 ". The two dailies low cost sales never exceeded the best 30,000. Irony of history, "The 10" became daily at the World Cup. Group Amaury, he now has other concerns: he has to announce his intention to surrender "the Parisien-today ' hui in France" to focus on "the team". A transfer project arouses the concern of workers: a General Assembly is scheduled Monday at 4 p.m. at the "Parisian".