In 2008, the major laundry detergent manufacturers, Unilever, Henkel, Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive, submitted a leniency application to the French competition authority (FCA). It appeared that between 1997 and 2004, the commercial directors of the four manufacturers had three to four secret meetings to discuss pricing and promotions for the French super- and hypermarkets. Subsequently, the parties sought to ensure that the agreed prices were complied with by reviewing promotional leaflets or by asking respective sales teams to report on prices which were implemented. On the basis of the various leniency applications, the FCA granted various conditional fine reductions, ranging from a reduction of 10-20% to total remittance.