After having received two submissions from France Messagerie, on 3 November 2021 then again on 24 December 2021, regarding the new technical, pricing, and contractual terms and conditions the company is proposing for 2022, today Arcep is publishing the two opinions it issued on these successive submissions.
France Messagerie’s economic and financial equilibrium remains a source of concern
Given the assumptions that France Messagerie makes its in business plan and the general price levels, which it plans to decrease, the technical, pricing, and contractual terms and conditions the company is proposing for 2022 are unable to remedy the concerns that Arcep expressed in its previous opinions regarding the company’s financial health.
As a result, the Authority is once again encouraging the company to search for ways to be more profitable, by continuing to improve the efficiency of its industrial facilities and, if warranted, by increasing its prices.
France Messagerie must provide an assessment of its implementation of new price lists
The new draft of the technical, pricing, and contractual terms and conditions applicable to publications for 2022 takes into consideration several requests that Arcep formulated in its Opinion of 15 December 2021.
Despite which, some of the price changes introduced in the price list for 2022 seem to still give a significant advantage to the highest circulation publications.
As a result, Arcep is requesting that France Messagerie provide it with a quantified assessment of the implementation of its new price list, by 31 March 2023 at the latest, so that it might analyse the impact of these changes in 2022.