Judgment of the General Court of 1 July 2010 - M6 and TF1 v Commission

(Joined Cases T-568/08 and T-573/08)¹

(State aid - Public service broadcasting - Aid which the French Republic is intending to grant in favour of France Télévisions - Capital funding of EUR 150 million -Decision not to raise objections - Service of general economic interest - Criterion of proportionality - No serious difficulties)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicants: Métropole télévision (M6) (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) (represented by: O. Freget, N. Chahid-Nouraï, R. Lazerges and M. Potel, lawyers); and Télévision française 1 SA (TF1) (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) (represented by: J.-P. Hordies and C. Smits, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: B. Stromsky and B. Martenczuk, Agents)

Intervener in support of the applicants: Canal + (Issy-les-Moulineaux, France) (represented by: E. Guillaume, lawyer)

Interveners in support of the defendant: The French Republic (represented by: G. de Bergues and A.-L. Vendrolini, and then by G. de Bergues and L. Butel, Agents); and France Télévisions (Paris, France) (represented by: J.-P. Gunther, D. Tayar, A. Giraud and S. Snoeck, lawyers)

Re:

Applications for annulment of Commission Decision C (2008) 3506 final of 16 July 2008 relating to the proposed grant, by the French Republic, of capital funding of EUR 150 million to France Télévisions SA, and applications for an order that the Commission open a formal investigation procedure.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

Dismisses the actions;

Orders Métropole télévision (M6) to bear its own costs in Case T-568/08 and pay those incurred by the European Commission and France Télévisions in that case;

Orders Télévision française 1 SA (TF1) to bear its own costs in Case T-573/08 and pay those incurred by the European Commission and France Télévisions in that case;

The French Republic and Canal + shall each bear their own costs in Cases T-568/08 and T-573/08.

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¹ - OJ C 55, 7.3.2009.