French competition watchdog raids Apple stores
AFP July 3, 2013, 3:44 am
PARIS (AFP) - French competition authorities last week raided several stores of US tech giant Apple following a complaint by failed local firm eBizcuss of unfair trade practices, officials said Tuesday.
Officials from the Autorite de la Concurrance confirmed the raids but did not say where they took place and how many outlets were affected. Apple did not comment.
The Les Echos financial daily said the the investigators wanted to probe Apple's relations with its distributors. The firm has been accused of favouring its own stores with the supply of new devices.
Les Echos said the distributors were "totally in the clutches of Apple which imposed drastic conditions, especially on the selling price of the goods."
eBizcuss filed a suit in April against Apple for limiting phone supplies. It was the biggest reseller of Apple goods in France with 15 stores and was formally declared liquidated in May.
