Transposition of the 2014 European Directives on public procurement by France

Abstract

The French public procurement code should be published in the next weeks. This project initiated by the French Government gave rise to a public consultation between 23 April and 29 May 2018; it is aimed at grouping together, without any amendments to current rules, all existing provisions relating to public procurement law (all contracts qualifying as public contracts and concessions), according to a consistent plan, in order to make the relevant legal framework clearer and more accessible. As of this day however, French rules relating to the conclusion and performance of public procurement contracts are contained in ordinance (ordonnance) n° 2015-899 of 23 July 2015 relating to public contracts (hereinafter referred to as the “Ordinance”) and its implementation decree (décret), n° 2016-360, of 25 March 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the “Decree”), that have implemented into domestic law the new European directives on public procurement. They entered into force on 1 April 2016. This contribution is aimed at providing an overall presentation of the significant changes resulting from the implementation into French law of EU Directives 2014/24 and 2014/25 without claiming to be exhaustive.