Brussels, 13/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 13 November, the European Commission confirmed that, the day before, Commission officials had carried out unannounced inspections in France on the premises of a business association and an enterprise both active on the biomedical analysis market. According to the daily, Les Echos, the premises of the Ordre des pharmaciens in Paris were inspected. The Commission is investigating the biomedical sector and most French biologists are pharmacists and therefore are members of this Order. The Commission states it has reason to believe that Community rules banning restrictive trading practice and/or abuse of dominant position have been infringed. It is necessary to know that, in France, the opening of medical analysis laboratories' capital to non biologists is currently limited to 25%, a situation that the French government has undertaken to remedy through legislative means. During the inspection, Commission officials were accompanied by their counterparts from the French competition authority. (O.L./transl.jl)