Ecostrill's €1 fine is a warning from French watchdog for 'killer' dealmakers

By Jean Comte ( October 22, 2026, 16:36 GMT | Comment) -- A French antitrust fine this week for creating a medical waste treatment monopoly in the overseas territory of La Reunion is unlikely to be appealed: It was a symbolic €1 on each party involved as it was a first. But the French competition regulator's novel use of a law on anticompetitive agreements to probe a below-threshold merger after the fact should be understood as a clear warning for the likes of tech giants or drugmakers eying killer acquisitions.Ecostrill, a medical waste company active in the French island of La Reunion, was on Thursday found guilty and fined by the French competition authority for an acquisition that created a monopoly in the sector....

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