PARIS—French authorities are probing Apple Inc.'s contracts with mobile operators in France, according to a person familiar with the matter, the latest move by European governments to ramp up pressure on largely U.S.-based tech firms.
Apple customers wait for the sales launch of the new iPhone in front of the Apple store in Paris on Sept. 19, 2013.
An administrative authority that falls under the French finance ministry is investigating the terms of contracts between cellphone suppliers and French phone operators for the sale of devices such as the iPhone, the person said, just days after two new models of the device went on sale, leading to long lines and heavy demand among French consumers.
The inquiry is part of a larger investigation into the overall relationship between handset makers and some of their biggest clients, said the person familiar with the matter. "For operators, handsets have become one of the big expenses," the person said. "There is a balance of power that is shifting."
Spokesmen for Apple and the French finance ministry's antifraud and antitrust unit declined to comment.
The Apple probe was reported earlier by French news channel BFM TV.
The French investigation is the latest facing Apple in Europe, as authorities in Paris and other European capitals worry about the power of a cadre of largely American companies over the growing Internet economy—from the operators that sell phones and provide access, to the digital companies that provide services to users.
In Brussels, the European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, has been looking into Apple's relationships with telecommunications operators, which are an important outlet for selling its iPhones. Meantime in France, the Autorité de la Concurrence, the independent antitrust watchdog, has two continuing inquiries involving Apple.
Earlier this summer, the competition authority raided some Apple offices as part of an investigation into whether Apple has engaged in unfair competition against distributors in France that resell Apple gear. The authority also has opened a preliminary investigation of online mobile-app stores, such as those run by Apple and Google Inc., to decide whether to open antitrust proceedings against a particular company or push for an industrywide policy.
A spokesman for the French competition authority on Wednesday said the inquiries were continuing.
Write to Sam Schechner at sam.schechner@wsj.com
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