Exclusive-French court cuts antitrust fine against Apple to 372 million euros from 1.1 billion- source

By Mathieu Rosemain

PARIS (Reuters) -A French court on Thursday substantially lowered a fine against iPhone maker Apple for alleged anti-competitive behaviour to 372 million euros ($366.31 million) from 1.1 billion euros previously, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The original fine had been imposed by France’s antitrust watchdog in 2020 for what it described as Apple’s anti-competitive behaviour towards its distribution and retail network.

At the time, it was the biggest fine levied by the antitrust regulator, which said Apple imposed prices on retail premium resellers so that the prices were aligned with those charged by the California firm in its own shops, or on the Internet.

The Paris appeals court lowered the fine because it decided to drop one of the three main charges, related to allegations of price-fixing, the source said. The court also decided to significantly lower the rate applied to calculate the overall fine, the source added.

The French antitrust authority had used a high rate in 2020 given the size and financial firepower of Apple, the source said.

Apple, which appealed against the original fine, could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.

($1 = 1.0155 euros)

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Silvia Aloisi)

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