Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the European Communities by judgment of the Tribunal des affaires de sécurité sociale de Saint-Etienne (Saint-Etienne Social Security Tribunal) (France) of 5 April 2004, received at the Court Registry on 29 June 2004, for a preliminary ruling in the case of SAS Bricorama France against Caisse Nationale de l'Organisation Autonome d'Assurance Vieillesse des Travailleurs Non-Salariés des Professions Industrielles et Commerciales — Caisse ORGANIC.

The Tribunal des affaires de sécurité sociale de Saint-Etienne asks the Court of Justice of the European Communities to give a preliminary ruling on the following question:

Should Article 87 EC be interpreted as meaning that State funding by France through the Comité Professionnel de la Distribution des Carburants (Fuel Distributors' Trade Committee) (‘the CPDC’) and through the Fonds d'Intervention pour la Sauvegarde de l'Artisanat et du Commerce (Intervention Fund for the Support of Crafts and Trade) (‘the FISAC’) by way of assistance when self-employed craftsmen and traders retire and grants made to the old-age insurance scheme for self-employed persons in manufacturing and trading occupations, and to the scheme for self-employed persons in the craft sector constitute State aid?