By James Regan
PARIS (Reuters) - The French competition authority slapped fines worth 951 million euros (767 million pounds) on personal hygiene and cleaning products makers on Thursday over price fixing in supermarkets between 2003 and 2006.
The watchdog announced sanctions totalling 345.2 million euros on cleaning products makers Colgate-Palmolive (N:CL), Henkel (DE:HNKG_p), Unilever (L:ULVR) (AS:UNc), Procter & Gamble (N:PG), Reckitt Benckiser (L:RB), Sara Lee, SC Johnson (N:JNJ) and Bolton Solitaire.
It announced a further 605.9 million euros of fines relating to personal hygiene products against Colgate-Palmolive, Henkel, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, Sara Lee, Laboratoires Vendôme, Gillette, L'Oreal (PA:OREP), Beiersdorf (DE:BEIG) and Vania.
French cosmetics giant L'Oreal, which faces the biggest share of the fines at 189.5 million euros, denied anticompetitive behaviour and said it would appeal the decision.
"L'Oreal is extremely surprised by this decision and the amount of the fine, which are totally out of proportion," it said in a statement.
Germany's Henkel, which faces total fines of 109 million euros, said it would examine the decision and then decide on further steps, adding that it had made provisions of 39 million.
Germany's Beiersdorf BEIG.DE was fined 72 million euros. The maker of Nivea products said it had been notified of the fine.
Reckitt Benckiser said its French units had been cooperating with the authorities in the investigation, and that it had made a provision in 2013 which would be sufficient for the 121 million in fines itfaces.
Whistleblowers SC Johnson, Colgate-Palmolive and Henkel will benefit from varying degrees of clemency, the French competition authority added in a statement, with SC Johnson receiving total immunity.
In addition, companies owned by Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Henkel, Reckitt Benckiser, Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble and Beiersdorf benefited from 16-18 percent reductions in the fines after they did not contest the facts and pledged to conform to the rules in the future.
The watchdog said the companies had coordinated there commercial policies and, in particular, agreed on price increases.
"These two sanctions are among the most significant imposed to date by the competition authority," it said.
PG, Unilever, Colgate, Sara Lee were not immediately available for comment.
(Additional reporting by Martinne Geller in London, Kirsti Knolle in Frankfurt and Jan C. Schwartz in Hamburg; Editing by Andrew Callus)