Public Tenders in France: The Complete Guide (2026)

A public tender is a formal process by which a contracting authority, such as a government body, local authority, or public institution, invites suppliers to submit proposals for a defined contract. The authority evaluates submissions against pre-published criteria and awards the contract to the most suitable offer. In France, this process is governed by the Code de la commande publique and covers everything from a services contract for a municipality to a major infrastructure project for the State.

This guide covers the key concepts, documents, and procedures you will encounter when responding to French public tenders, written for supplier teams rather than procurement officers.

The general concepts of public tenders in France

1. The public market

It is a contract entered into by a public body (the State, local authorities, public institutions,...) with a private (or sometimes also public) company, in order to meet his needs in terms of products, services or works.

The functioning of public procurement is governed by the Public procurement code which came into force on April 1, 2019 (1,747 articles from the first version... ouch!)

2. The contracting authority

It is The public body (your future customer 🤞) who makes a deal in order to find a company that can meet their needs at the best quality-price ratio.

Contracting authorities are very varied:

• The State
• Local authorities (regions, departments, municipalities...)
• Public institutions (hospitals, higher schools, museums, ports, ports, foundations, associations...) such as the CAF (Family Allowances Fund), the BNF (National Library of France) or the EFS (French Blood Establishment)

💡 Note: the “Contracting Authority” is sometimes called “Contracting Entity” when it is a network operator such as SNCF, RATP, La Poste, EDF...

3. The public procurement procedure

Under €40,000, the public purchasers are Exempt from procedure publication and competitive tendering.

Then, depending on the type of buyer, the nature and the amount of the contract (see table below), they must follow:

• Let it be a adapted procedure, more flexible (Adapted Procedure Market, MAPA)
  • You must follow the procedures for awarding and awarding the contract freely set by the buyer.
• Let it be a formalized procedure, more rigid, which can be:
  • The call for tenders : it is either open or restricted to a list of pre-selected candidates. The buyer chooses the best offer according to defined criteria, without any negotiation.
  • The competitive procedure with negotiation : subject to being justified by the need, it allows the buyer to plan a negotiation phase.
  • Competitive dialogue : Dialogue between the buyer and the pre-selected candidates to define the solutions that best meet the needs, before they submit their final offers.

💡 Note: for service contracts, the public procurement threshold taken into account corresponds to the amount estimated over 1 year, and not to the amount over the entire duration of the contract

4. The contract notice (public procurement advertising)

It is the official announcement, the advertisement, broadcast publicly to inform about the upcoming market.

The review contains key information on the market and above all, The link to the website (public buyer profile) where you can download the complete file.

📄 To find out more, read our article “How to decipher a contract notice”

Reviews are published on official sites such as:

• The BOAMP (Official Bulletin of Public Procurement Notices)
• TED (Tenders Electronic Daily)
• In A legal announcement newspaper (JAL), authorization given to more than 200 national or local press titles
• They are also centralized on monitoring sites operated by private companies.

These platforms also publish award notices who announce the results of the market as well as Amending opinions, which contain changes in the market

📄 To find reviews, read our article “Where to find market reviews”

5. The public buyer profile

A very complicated name to refer to... The website where tender documents are published.

It can be created by the buyer himself, or hosted on a specialized platform, and offers the following functionalities:

• Publication and consultation of contract notices
• Availability of consultation documents
• Submission of applications and offers
• Questions and answers with buyers
• Secure messaging for contract notification

There are hundreds of them out there. Here are a few examples:

• That of the State: SQUARE
• That of the Brittany region: MEGALIS
• That of the city of Lyon: Public contracts in the City of Lyon

There are also private platforms, which bring together several profiles of public buyers.

The consultation documents (DCE)

The consultation documents (formerly called Business Consultation File (or DCE) define the needs and expectations of the buyer.

💡 Note: the CCAG (Cahier des Clauses Administratives Générales) and CCTG (Cahier des Clauses Techniques Générales) and CCTG (Cahier des Clauses Techniques Générales) and CCTG (Cahier des Clauses Techniques Générales) are often contract documents These documents set out the general administrative and contractual framework for the contract. They can be viewed online here.

1. The Consultation Regulation (RC)

The regulation Set the constraints relating to competitive tendering and the conduct of the market.

It contains key information such as:

• Purpose : which summarises the needs and expectations of the buyer.
• CPV code : nomenclature that defines the nature of the services expected.

➡️ Example: the CPV code for Vocational Training Services is 80530000-8. Consult the complete list of CPV codes here.

• Dates : deadline for submitting tenders and other key market dates.
• Duration : period between the start and end date of performance of the services. Maximum 4 years for a framework agreement, most often in the form of an initial period of 1 year renewed 3 times.
• Amount : total estimated value. Attention, this is a maximum amount over the entire duration of the contract. This is by no means the price expected by the customer.

✅ Example of a contract for the Constitutional Council in 2024: for 50 mobile plans, the maximum amount over 4 (four) years is €400,000. That is 130€/month and per package!

• Lots : the buyer can divide the contract into lots to award them separately (multi-attribute contract). Each lot gives rise to an independent market.
• Variant : not always authorized, it is an alternative solution to the one initially described in the CCTP. They are proposed by the candidate and must respect the objectives of the market.
• Possible additional benefit (PSE) : service described in the CCTP which complements the main purpose of the contract. Responding to a PSE may be optional or mandatory. The buyer remains free to decide whether or not to withhold the PSE at the time of signing.
• Grouping : not always authorized, grouping allows several companies to jointly respond to needs.
• Form of the prize : it can be an ordinary contract with a global and fixed price, or a contract with unit prices, or a framework agreement with purchase orders.
• Response methods : list of the documents to be provided with their methods of sending in order to apply and then to submit an offer.

2. The Special Technical Clauses Book (CCTP)

Contract document project-specific that details technical requirements particular features of the service. It precisely describes the features of the expected benefits and the technical standards to be respected.

💡 Note: the CCTP corresponds to the buyer's specifications

3. The Special Administrative Clauses Book (CCAP)

Contractual document specific to a project, laying down specific administrative clauses to the contract in question. In particular, it specifies the terms of payment, penalties in case of delay, and cancellation conditions.

Note that the CCAPs provide details in relation to the CCAG (Cahier des Clauses Administratives Générales) which sets out the administrative provisions applicable according to the type of contract (supplies, services, works) and also defines the general rules that frame the respective obligations of the parties, the respective obligations of the parties, the terms of execution and the conditions of settlement.

💡 Note: the CCAP sets the guarantees required, the deadlines and means of execution, the payment terms, the penalties, etc.

The documents in the application file

Before submitting your offer, you must first submit your application by providing the buyer with all the application documents mentioned in the Consultation Rules.

The main documents constituting the application file are the following:

1. The European Single Market Document (DUME)

The DUME is a standardized electronic form (XML format) that allows companies to declare that they meet the selection criteria for a public contract in the European Union.

It simplifies and accelerates procurement procedures, and avoids having to fill out the DC1 and DC2 forms every time, which it is supposed to replace completely in the long term (even if some buyers still have trouble using it!).

2. The application letter (DC1)

Typical form that allows you to:

• to identify you as a candidate
• to specify the lots for which you are applying
• To indicate if you are responding in a group
• to certify on your behalf you are entitled to tender.

3. The statement of the individual candidate (DC2)

A standard form that allows you to prove your economic and financial capabilities, as well as your technical and professional abilities.

DC2 must be provided for each lot consultation, and by each member of the group.

4. The subcontracting declaration (DC4)

Standard form that allows, in case of subcontracting:

• To describe the subcontracted services
• To set up direct payment from the subcontractor

💡 All DC1, DC2, DC4 form templates are available here

The documents in the public procurement tender file

Once your application has been accepted, you must send your offer to the buyer by sending, On time, all of the response documents referred to in the Consultation Rules.

The main documents constituting the offer file are the following:

1. The Act of Commitment (AE)

Essential contract document, which must be signed by the candidate. It formalizes its agreement with the terms of the contract as well as its commitment to provide the offer proposed in the technical brief at the agreed rates.

💡 Note: the signature is now only mandatory at the time of contract award, but many buyers continue to require it in the offer file

2. The Breakdown of the Global and Fixed Price (DPGF)

DPGF is used for fixed-price contracts. It allows the buyer to understand how you built your prize

It's aboutan Excel file that details each expense item mentioned in the CCTP (works, products or services) the unit price, quantity and subtotal.

The sum of the lines gives the total fixed price.

3. The Unit Price List (BPU)

BPU is used for unit price markets, mainly for framework agreements based on purchase order.

It is a contractual document indicating the prices applicable to each item of works or to the units of supplies or services described in the contract documents.

It is a Excel file with 3 columns : the description of the product/service, the unit of measure, and the unit price.

The interest of the BPU is to set the unit prices that will be applied throughout the duration of the market.

4. Estimated Quantitative Detail (DQE)

The DQE is a complement to the BPU for unit-price markets.

It is an estimate that allows the buyer to Simulate a budget envelope thanks to the estimated quantities, in order to better compare the offers proposed by the various candidates.

💡 Note: the DQE can have various names, such as: estimate estimate, financial simulation or sample basket.

5. The Technical Proposal (Mémoire Technique)

definitely The most important document is a commercial proposal. You must demonstrate your ability to provide the services requested by detailing the technical approach, human and material resources, and organization.

It must be adapted to each market to respect the selection criteria and facilitate reading for the buyer.

📄 Read our article with our tips for writing a technical brief‍

6. The Technical Response Framework (CRT)

En Alternative to the Technical Proposal (Mémoire Technique), the CRT is a response document with a strict framework imposed by the buyer, often in a Word or Excel document that contains the list of requirements.

It facilitates the understanding and fair evaluation of offers.

How Tenderbolt helps teams responding to French public tenders

Reading a full DCE, mapping every requirement against your capabilities, drafting a compliant mémoire technique, completing the DC1 and DC2 correctly, and coordinating review and sign-off: for most bid teams, this process consumes more time than it should on mechanics rather than strategy.

Tenderbolt was built specifically for this. It reads the full DCE, maps every requirement automatically, and drafts answers from your own validated content and past responses. Every answer links back to the source it came from. When the answer is not in your knowledge base, it says so rather than inventing one. No Shortcuts. No Hallucinations. No Excuses.

Teams that use it report up to 70% time saved on response production, x4 velocity, and a 25% increase in success rate. Your experts stay in the driving seat. The software does the repetitive work.

See how Tenderbolt works for French public tenders

In conclusion

French public procurement has its own vocabulary, its own document structure, and its own procedural rules. Once you know them, the process becomes repeatable. The concepts above, from the contracting authority to the BPU, are the ones you will encounter in every consultation file you respond to.

If your team responds to French public tenders regularly, Tenderbolt reads the full DCE, maps every requirement, and drafts your technical proposal from your own validated content. Your experts stay in the driving seat. The software does the repetitive work.

See how Tenderbolt works for public tenders

For teams working in both French and English, this guide is also available in French: Appel d'offres : définition et guide complet