Umberto Berkani appointed General Rapporteur of the Autorité de la concurrence

Following a selection process led by a committee tasked with assisting the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty in his choice, the Minister has decided to appoint Umberto Berkani as General Rapporteur of the Autorité de la concurrence.

In accordance with Article L. 461-4 of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce), the Board of the Autorité was consulted on the proposed appointment and issued a favourable opinion on 12 March 2025. Appointed for a term of four years, which can be renewed once, Umberto Berkani succeeds Stanislas Martin, whose second term of office has expired.

The President of the Autorité, Benoit Cœuré, and the institution as a whole extend their warmest thanks to Stanislas Martin for his commitment and work to support and promote the Autorité and competition law, and they wish him every success in the next step of his career. The Autorité would also like to thank Lauriane Lépine, Deputy General Rapporteur, who served as Interim General Rapporteur following the end of the term of office of Stanislas Martin.

Biography

A holder of an advanced degree (agrégation) in economics and management and a Master’s degree (DEA) in business and economics law, Umberto Berkani was a case officer (rapporteur) at the Conseil de la concurrence (now the Autorité de la concurrence) from 2004 to 2010 and then a seconded national expert at the Directorate General for Competition at the European Commission from 2011 to 2012. He returned to the Autorité in 2013 as Deputy General Rapporteur. For eight years, he led Antitrust Unit 1, which focuses primarily on the investigation and preparation of antitrust proceedings and opinions in the energy, transport and construction sectors. From 2019, he also served as the French Overseas Territories Referent, before becoming Special Adviser to the General Rapporteur in early 2021.

Since May 2021, Umberto Berkani has been Head of Department and Deputy Legal Director in the General Secretariat of the Ministries for Ecology, Territories, Transport, Energy, Housing and the Sea.

In parallel, he has been a member of the French Commission for Access to Administrative Documents since September 2019, as one the appointees chosen for their expertise in competition and prices.

General Rapporteur: a key role within the Autorité

The General Rapporteur plays a key role within the Autorité de la concurrence. As the head the Investigation Services, the General Rapporteur oversees all cases on anticompetitive practices, the examination of proposed mergers and the preparation of opinions.

The Investigation Services have around 120 staff and comprise six units in charge of anticompetitive practices, a merger control unit, an inspections unit responsible for detecting practices and organising investigations, an economics unit, and a digital economy unit that supports all the units of the Investigation Services on digital matters and the development of innovative investigation tools.