The price hikes, which happened between 2004-10, were agreed during "secret meetings", the watchdog said.
The
companies fined include the French divisions of FedEx Express, TNT and
DHL Express with TLF, the delivery union, also included in those fined.
The authority said that the price rises especially damaged small businesses.
An
additional fine of €1.4m was issued to 15 of the companies, for
agreeing on a system designed to pass on higher diesel prices to
customers.
It outlined one case, in which some of the companies
had planned an annual 5% price increase, but after secret meetings with
other delivery companies, decided to raise prices by 7% instead.
"Meetings
were organised regularly before and after new pricing rounds, which
enabled the companies to homogenise their price demands and secure their
commercial negotiations," the competition watchdog said.
"The discussions were kept secret and there was no official record taken."
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