2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

FRANCE PART 2: COUNTRY ANALYSIS
Water billings in 2001 were €10 billion:
Local authority collection 46%
Private sector collection 25%
Water agencies 12%
Government 7%
One of the problems is that the ‘polluter pays’ principle applies more to domestic customers than to
other categories. In 1998, agriculture generated a BOD load of 254million PE while financing 2% of
sewerage expenditure and accounted for 80% of water demand while paying 1% of the national
supply bill. The Agences des Basins are failing to levy appropriate charges to agriculture and
industry. As a result, they have been steadily increasing their fees to domestic customers (up 22.7%
per annum on average between 1988 and 1994) to make up for this shortfall.
Market structure
Companies have a portfolio of local contracts, traditionally managed on a regional basis. Privatisation
has been taking place alongside the evolution and expansion of water and wastewater services.
Since the late 1930s, privatisation has generally expanded by 1% per annum. There are three
leading private sector companies with 13,000 contracts, and the public sector, which addresses some
23,000 municipal contracts. The private sector accounts for 78% of the population, including the
great majority of the urban population with an average population served of 3,600 people per contract.
The public sector serves the remaining 22% of the population, mainly in rural areas, with an average
population served of 565 people per contract.
Freshwater
Total (1998, km 3 ) 180.0
Per capita (1998,m 3 ) 3,065
Withdrawals (1990, km 3 ) 37.7
For domestic use (1987) 16%
For industry (1987) 69%
For agriculture (1987) 15%
Privatisation
Private sector involvement started in 1853 with the founding of Cie. Generale des Eaux (VE),
followed by Eaux de Banlieue in 1867 and Lyonnaise des Eaux (Suez) in 1880. By 1933, there were
eight major private sector players in France, along with a number of smaller regional concerns serving
17% of the population. PSP rose to 31% in 1954, 44% in 1968 and 69% by 1986. In 1980, there
were 50 private sector companies, many of them under the wings of VE and Suez. By 1990, five
significant private sector entities remained. One new competitor (Ruas) has recently emerged, but
this remains a local company. With the acquisition of SDEI by Suez in 1991 and CISE by Bouygues
(SAUR’s then parent company) in 1997, there were only three major private sector players left,
serving some 78% of the population.
Population served by management regime
Million Municipally run Delegated Overall
1998 2001 1998 2001 1998 2001
Drinking water supply
Single municipality 8.6 7.6 16.5 15.4 25.0 23.0
Group of municipalities 10.0 10.0 25.0 27.1 35.0 37.1
Overall 18.6 17.6 41.5 42.5 60.0 60.0
Waste water treatment
Single municipality 11.3 9.8 11.8 10.4 23.1 20.2
Group of municipalities 14.6 16.3 18.3 19.9 32.9 36.1
Overall 25.8 26.1 30.1 30.3 55.9 56.4
Source: Institut Française de l’Environnement, in collaboration with the statisticians of the Service Centrale des Enquetes et
Etudes Statistiques, 2004.
91 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006