Anne Wachsmann Guigon
Between 2001 and June 2025, Anne was an Equity partner at the Magic Circle law firm Linklaters. She is now Vice-President of the French Competition Authority by appointment of the French President of the Republic. This is the first time a private practioner was appointed to this role in France.
During her time at Linklaters, Anne has been ranked individually in Band 1 in Chambers for many years. She was featured in the Hall of Fame of Legal500 EMEA 2025, which stated that “Anne Wachsmann has become one of, if not the most respected and experienced antitrust lawyers in France.” In 2025, she also appeared on the prestigious Women in Antitrust list published by Global Competition Review (GCR). Earlier in her career, Anne was listed twice in GCR’s Top 40 Under 40 Antitrust Lawyers.
She has always been specialised in competition law, including cartels, abuse of dominance, vertical restraints, and merger control at both the national and European levels, whether at the administrative investigation stage or before the relevant courts. She also handled significant private enforcement cases before French courts. Anne focused on certain key industries (industrial and consumer goods, Pharma and air transport).
At Linklaters, she was very specialised in merger control. She participated in the restructuration of the French food distribution in obtaining clearances for the acquisition of nearly 300 stores from the Casino group. She also assisted a French distributor in 2022 before the Belgian Competition Authority concerning its acquisition of 87 Carrefour stores. Among her most prominent merger control cases, Anne advised Peugeot from 2019 to 2021 on all aspects of the merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now Stellantis), securing over 25 global Phase 1 or Phase 2 clearances. The creation of Stellantis was awarded GCR’s Matter of the Year in 2021. Previously, she had advised Peugeot on its acquisition of Opel in 2017, which was authorised by the European Commission. She also advised the French automotive supplier OPmobility (formerly Plastic Omnium) on various acquisitions and Verallia in 2025 regarding the public tender offer project of Brazilian company BWGI.
Beyond her advisory role, Anne has regularly contributed to the prestigious Concurrences journal from 2005 to 2024 in the column on unilateral practices. She contributed to the Liber Amicorum in honour of Prof. Laurence Idot, published in 2022. Anne has authored numerous publications, including:
- The entry on “Merger Control Policy” in the Dictionary of Competition Law, updated in 2024.
- A chapter entitled “Minority Interests and Joint Shareholding, a New Age of Enforcement” in Why Competition? Voices from the Antitrust Community and Beyond, published by Concurrences in 2024 (an invitation-only contribution).
- “Towercast and Article 101 TFEU: Mirage or Reality? Lessons to Learn – The First Case Before the FCA 24 D05 of 2 May 2024,” published in January 2025 in the Journal of European Competition Law & Practice.
In July 2024, she was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of the Palais de Tokyo, one of the major Art Center in Europe, on the recommendation of the French Government. Since 2020, she is the Chair of the Centre Européen d’Actions Artistiques Contemporaines (CEAAC), a Strasbourg-based contemporary art centre.
She was President of the Fondation d’entreprise Linklaters, between 2015 and 2025 —the first foundation launched by a business law firm in France, which focuses on two pillars: educational initiatives for solidarity aimed at combating exclusion and cultural sponsorship.