France mandates functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. Functional separation is mandated for operators with significant market power, according to Art. L38-2 and Art. R9-5 of the Postal and Electronic Communications Code. Accounting separation is mandated only in some cases: it may be considered for operators declared by the Authority to be dominant on the market when ex ante regulation has not ensured effective competition and significant competition or market failure problems remain

Art. L42-1 of the Postal and Electronic Communications Code provides that the Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques, des Postes et de la Distribution de la Presse (ARCEP, Electronic Communications, Postal and Print media distribution Regulatory Authority) shall allocate authorisations for the use of radio frequencies under objective, transparent and non-discriminatory conditions, taking into account the objectives set out in Art. L. 32-1, in particular regional planning needs and the objective of protecting the environment. These authorisations may be refused by the ARCEP for one of the following reasons: safeguarding public order, national defence or public security; the exercise of effective and fair competition for the benefit of users; the proper use of frequencies; the applicant's technical or financial inability to sustainably meet the obligations arising from the conditions under which it carries out its activity; the applicant has been sentenced to one of the penalties mentioned in Arts. L. 36-11, L. 39, L. 39-1, L. 39-1-1 and L. 39-4.

It is reported that the French State owns 23.04% of Orange SA's share capital. Orange it is a major player in the French telecommunications market and is one of the largest telecommunications operators in the world.

According to the Postal and Electronic Communications Code, passive infrastructure sharing is mandated in France (Art. 47-49). The operators of networks open to the public can occupy the public road domain, by setting up works there insofar as this occupation is not incompatible with its assignment. In addition, co-location is not required but is strongly encouraged by the Postal and Electronic Communications Code. Passive access to optical local loops is regulated by the Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques, des Postes et de la Distribution de la Presse (Arcep) in a symmetrical manner. On copper, an asymmetric regulation applies to Orange on passive and active access.
In addition, Directive 2014/61/EU (Art. 3.2) establishes that Member States shall ensure that, upon written request of an undertaking providing or authorised to provide public communications networks, any network operator has the obligation to meet all reasonable requests for access to its physical infrastructure under fair and reasonable terms and conditions, including price, with a view to deploying elements of high-speed electronic communications networks. Such written request shall specify the elements of the project for which the access is requested, including a specific time frame.

France has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

The Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) is key in harmonising national laws concerning trade secrets. France transposed the Directive through a series of amendments to existing legislation in 2018, as well as with Act 2018-670 on the Protection of Trade Secrets. This act introduces comprehensive protective mechanisms for trade secrets, which are considered effective by practitioners.

The rate of unlicensed software installation in France was reportedly 32% in 2017 (above the 26% rate of Western European countries), for an estimated commercial value of unlicensed software of USD 2,101 million. Yet, the Authority for the regulation of audiovisual and digital communication that is responsible for digital copyright enforcement, as a successor to HADOPI, implements a graduated response system that is generally described as efficient.

France has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

There is no general principle for the use of copyright protected material comparable to the fair use/fair dealing principles. Directive 2001/29/EC defines an optional, but exhaustive set of limitations from the author´s exclusive rights under the control of the “three-step test” in line with the Berne Convention that establishes three cumulative conditions to the limitations and exceptions of a copyright holder’s rights. The Directive has been transposed by Member States with significant freedom.
Art. L122-5 of the French Intellectual Property Code establishes far-reaching copyright exemptions, including private reproductions, analyses and critique, parodies, and pedagogical uses.

France is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Under the Regulation 2019/452, Member States may maintain their existing investments screening mechanisms (21 Member States currently do), adopt new ones or remain without such national mechanisms. The Commission keeps an up-to-date list of screening laws in the EU. Member States must notify the Commission who may issue an opinion when an investment threatens the security or public order of more than one Member State, or when an investment could undermine a strategic project or programme of interest to the whole EU, such as Horizon 2020 or Galileo. The final decision remains with the Member State.
The Decree 2019-1590 in France establishes an investment screening procedure for foreign acquisitions of French companies in critical sectors such as the security of information systems, cryptography, surveillance, digital security audits, gambling except casinos, telecommunications networks, media (Art. R151-3). The acquisition of 25% of voting shares does not fall under the screening procedure if the home state of the investor is part of the EU and/or has concluded an agreement to combat fiscal fraud with France. When implementing the procedure, the Ministry for the Economy considers the perennity of the activities in question on French territory, the potential for maintaining the know-how related to them in France, the governance modalities of the resulting company and information modalities (Art. R151-8). The Ministry can refuse the operation or place it under certain conditions. In 2020, the acquisition of the French photonic sensor manufacturer Photonis by US-based Teledyne was blocked.

Art. 85 of the Utilities Directive (2014/25/EU) contains provisions allowing contracting public entities to reject foreign goods not covered by any EU international commitments from its tender procedures. In these cases, a tender submitted for the award of a supply contract may be rejected where the proportion of the products originating in third countries exceeds 50% of the total value of the products constituting the tender (Art. 85.2). Additionally, in cases of equivalent offers, the provisions provide for a preference for European tenders and tenders covered by EU's international obligations. In practice, this possibility has rarely been used.
In France, the Directive has been transposed with the Public Order Code (CCP), which contains the provisions governing public order contracts, following a distinction between public contracts and concessions.

Under Section 19.6 of the Cloud computing service providers (SecNumCloud)
requirements repository, providers which are subject to non-EU law, either because of their residency or their ownership, are excluded. France's Policy on the Security of Information Systems of the State states that if certificates are available, certified products or services are to be preferred, effectively putting non-EU providers at a disadvantage.

It is reported that the lack of transparency is a challenge for public procurement procedures in France, especially for foreign bidders, including with respect to overly narrow definitions of tenders, and implicit biases in favor of local vendors and state-owned enterprises.

The Public Procurement Code, Chapter 3, Section 1, stipulates that French public authorities shall guarantee equivalent treatment to economic operators and works, supplies and services from States that are signatory to the WTO Government Procurement act and economic operators from EU Member States. In other cases, authorities may introduce criteria or restrictions in the tender documents based on the origin of the goods or services.