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2007 Assessment

France: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

France: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Procurement
Indicators		Score
48	Is the public procurement process effective?	60
49	Can citizens access the public procurement process?	92

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is the public procurement process effective?

48a: In law, there are regulations addressing conflicts of interest for public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Penal Code, article 432-12, [ LINK ]

48b: In law, there is mandatory professional training for public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Statut Général de la Fonction Publique (in particular Title II, chapter 3).

48c: In practice, the conflicts of interest regulations for public procurement officials are enforced.

Score:

100

Comments: Violations can be difficult to detect. There is not always a real political will to monitor and enforce conflict of interest regulations.

References: Beaugé, Thierry, Le nouveau code des marchés publics et la transparence, Transparence France, January 2004, [ LINK ]; Transparence France, La lettre de transparence, actualité judiciaire, March 2007, [ LINK ]

48d: In law, there is a mechanism that monitors the assets, incomes and spending habits of public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: There is no such legal mechanism.

48e: In law, major procurements require competitive bidding.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Code des marchés publics (Public procurement code), article 1, [ LINK ]

48f: In law, strict formal requirements limit the extent of sole sourcing.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Code des marchés publics (Public procurement code), [ LINK ]

48g: In law, unsuccessful bidders can instigate an official review of procurement decisions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: This is not the case.

48h: In law, unsuccessful bidders can challenge procurement decisions in a court of law.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: This possibility has been established through the Jurisprudence of the Conseil d'Etat (Jurisprudence Schwetzoff of 1973, Tropic Travaux Signalisation of July 16, 2006), [ LINK ].

48i: In law, companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations (i.e. bribery) are prohibited from participating in future procurement bids.

Score:

YES

Comments: Companies are prohibited from participating in procurement bids if they are in breach of their tax obligations or have been declared bankrupt (Decree 2004-15 of Jan. 7, 2004, [ LINK ])

References: There is no such prohibition.

48j: In practice, companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations (i.e. bribery) are prohibited from participating in future procurement bids.

Score:

100

Comments:

Can citizens access the public procurement process?

49a: In law, citizens can access public procurement regulations.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Code des marchés publics (Public procurement code), [ LINK ]

49b: In law, the government is required to publicly announce the results of procurement decisions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Code des marchés publics (Public procurement code), [ LINK ]

49c: In practice, citizens can access public procurement regulations within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The rules governing the competitive competitive procurement process can be obtained but there might be delays or impossibilities when information is sensitive.

References: Code des marchés publics (Public procurement code), [ LINK ];

Beaugé, Thierry, Le nouveau code des marchés publics et la transparence, Transparence France, January 2004, [ LINK ]

49d: In practice, citizens can access public procurement regulations at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: The rules governing the competitive competitive procurement process can be obtained at no or little cost but there might be delays or impossibilities when information is sensitive.

References: Code des marchés publics (Public procurement code), [ LINK ];

Beaugé, Thierry, Le nouveau code des marchés publics et la transparence, Transparence France, January 2004, [ LINK ]

49e: In practice, major public procurements are effectively advertised.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Beaugé, Thierry, Le nouveau code des marchés publics et la transparence, Transparence France, January 2004, [ LINK ]; Ministry of Finance, La publicité pour les marchés publics dun montant inférieur à 90.000 ¬ HT, [ LINK ] [ LINK ]

49f: In practice, citizens can access the results of major public procurement bids.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Beaugé, Thierry, Le nouveau code des marchés publics et la transparence, Transparence France, January 2004, [ LINK ]; Ministry of Finance, L'Observatoire économique de l'achat public, [ LINK ]