Employees of the French antimonopoly authority (Autorité de la Concurrence) conducted searches in several Apple brand stores, as well as distributors of the company's products, BBC reports .

was the first to report the searches The French newspaper Les Echos . The BBC press service confirmed this information and reported that the searches were carried out last week. The department refused to name the reason for these actions. Apple declined to comment on the searches.

The BBC speculates that this is related to an investigation into Apple, which is suspected of anti-competitive behavior. According to the investigation, Apple brand stores had more favorable conditions for receiving new devices compared to resellers.

In April 2012, the French company eBizcuss filed a lawsuit in a Paris court, accusing the company of abusing its dominant position in the market. According to unofficial data, Apple employees gave eBizcuss strict instructions on how to train staff and how to design stores, and also demanded that the reseller reduce sales of devices from other manufacturers, notes the PCWorld.com portal . It is not clear whether the searches were related to the eBizcuss complaint. According to the law, the antimonopoly agency can conduct searches in a case of abuse of a dominant position in the market on its own initiative or upon receipt of a request.

eBizcuss was formerly the largest Apple distributor in France. The company's network included 15 stores. Due to losses that eBizcuss associates with Apple's policies, the company has only seven stores left.

Apple stores in France were searched