Public tenders in France
Any EU company has the right to tender for public contracts in France and must be judged on a par with local, domestic companies. This is the theory. In practice, however, new entrants to France find the prospect of accessing tenders, understanding the processes and fulfilling tender offer requirements daunting. In an effort to help SMEs gain better access to public contracts, the government has made efforts to simplify the tender processes. Most importantly, since 2007, 25% of the value of all public contracts in France must be given to SMEs. The French government cited the US Small Business Act as a model. In the US, SMEs are guaranteed 40% of the value of public contracts while in France today, SMEs struggle to capture 10%, according to the Federation of French Builders.
The rule for publicising tenders is simple enough: all work of an estimated value above €4,000 must be advertised to the public. For work valued between €4,000 and €90,000, the public body is at liberty to choose the form of advertisement. For work valued between €90,000 and €135,000, the project must be advertised via relevant trade journals and respect various norms. Above this amount, the contract must be advertised in the Official Bulletin for Public Works (Bulletin Officiel des Announces des Marchés Publics, or BOAMP). For public works greater than €5.27m, the contract must appear in the Official Journal of the European Union. The government lists all public sector tenders on a dedicated web site, www.journal-officiel.gouv.fr.
