Although France has not presented to the Commission any argument based on the existence of a legitimate expectation on the part of the aid recipient, it follows from the case law of the Court of Justice that the Commission is required to take automatically into consideration any exceptional circumstances which justify, in accordance with Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 659/1999, its refraining from ordering the recovery of unlawfully granted aid where such recovery is contrary to a general principle of Community law, such as respect for the legitimate expectations of the recipients.
Cependant, il découle de la jurisprudence de la Cour que la Commission est tenue de prendre d'office en considération les circonstances exceptionnelles qui justifient, conformément à l'article 14, paragraphe 1, du règlement (CE) no 659/1999, qu'elle renonce à ordonner la récupération des aides accordées illégalement lorsque cette récupération est contraire à un principe général du droit communautaire, tel que le respect de la confiance légitime des bénéficiaires.