Parallel to the New Left, whose influence on French public opinion is so pronounced today, a new academic movement has grown up in the United States in the last fifteen years. Its ideas are the portents of an intellectual and scientific revolution whose importance for the economic and political future of western society should be almost as great as the Keynesian revolution of the ‘30s.

Il apparaît qu’en France aujourd’hui, le modèle néoclassique de la concurrence inspire l’ essentiel de la réglementation de la concurrence. Or la théorie économique moderne, telle qu’elle est inspirée par Coase et Hayek notamment, tend à renverser les certitudes du modèle néoclassique et à admettre que la discrimination commerciale peut avoir un effet bénéfique sur l’efficacité économique. La distribution sélective prend tout son sens dans un contexte d’incertitude et d’ information imparfaite. C’est la confrontation de ces deux philosophies — celle (...) qui inspire le législateur français, le législateur allemand ou la doctrine communautaire européenne, et celle plus optimiste à l’égard des pratiques discriminatoires — qui est opérée dans cet article. Ainsi, la pratique des prix imposés, la franchise, la concession et la protection territoriale sont analysées dans le cadre de cette confrontation. De même, une critique de la doctrine communautaire est exposée. L’évolution du droit des contrats et du droit de la concurrence fait aussi l’objet d’une analyse mettant face à face les deux doctrines. C’est bien la vision du marché en tant que processus qui est au centre de cette analyse.The neoclassical model of competition seems to sustain today in France the main regulations about competition. However, modern economic theory, as initiated by Coase and Hayek notably, calls into question the certainties brought about by the neoclassical model and acknowledges the beneficial effects of commercial efficiency. Contractual discrimination takes its meaning in an open-ended world. The contrast between these two views — the one which inspires the French legislator, the German legislator, or the European Community doctrine, and the more optimistic one with respect to discriminatory practices — is put forward in this paper. Thus, imposed prices, franchising, concession and territorial protection are pratices discussed within this contrast. Moreover, a critique of the European Community doctrine is developed. The evolution of contract law and antitrust law is also examined by contrasting the two views. It is indeed the thesis of the market as a process which is underlined in the present analysis. (shrink)