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The establishment of the cartels technical commission in 1953, seems to prefigure the German competition law and the Treaty of Rome four years later. However some differences have to be put into relief. First, it does not participate to a defence of competition law based order as the German ordo-liberals promoted at that time. Second, the collusive practices targeted mainly concerned bid-rigging practices in public procurement in the reconstruction and modernisation plans. If this competition policy contrasts with war experiences and the interwar period arguments for a regulated competition, sanctioning horizontal collusion makes sense within an industrial policy model based on a close co-operation between Government and some national champions.