French Watchdog Dismisses Qwant’s Antitrust Complaint Against Microsoft

France’s antitrust regulator has dismissed an antitrust case filed by Qwant, ending a long-running dispute between the French search engine and Microsoft. The ruling was announced today in Paris, which puts an end to Qwant’s initial case but triggers another legal round.

The French watchdog, Autorité de la Concurrence, has said that Qwant failed to provide “elements sufficiently convincing” to support its allegations. The regulator also declined to grant the interim measures Qwant had requested. Qwant had accused Microsoft of abusing a dominant position in search, alleging the Redmond giant imposed exclusivity restrictions on search results and search advertising.

According to Qwant, those conditions prevented it from developing its own search engine and AI models. Qwant, which uses Microsoft’s Bing for search and news results, had already said last month that it expected the complaint to be dismissed. The company has confirmed it will now challenge the ruling in court or escalate it to other authorities.

Meanwhile, Microsoft welcomed the outcome. In a statement to Reuters, a spokesperson said:

We agree with the decision and remain committed to providing high-quality search services and fostering innovation for consumers and partners in France and across Europe.

Microsoft is one of the biggest players in search syndication across Europe. Besides Qwant, it provides search results for smaller rivals such as Ecosia, DuckDuckGo, and Lilo. The ruling may influence ongoing debates around competition, AI development, and the dominance of large U.S. platforms in European search.