translate English to French: The formula in question was somewhat contentious until the very last minute, but we succeeded in laying down that accreditation bodies must not compete with each other and must keep their public mission sacrosanct, as it were.
La formule retenue fut quelque peu controversée jusqu'à la toute dernière minute, mais nous avons réussi à imposer l'obligation de non-concurrence entre les organismes d'accréditation et le maintien de leur sacro-sainte mission publique.