Public-private partnerships: water and wastewater services in France

ABSTRACT In France, responsibility for potable water supply and wastewater services has been allocated to the municipal level of government. Water supply and wastewater services can be managed and operated under the authority of municipal governments (la regie) or can be delegated to the private sector through turnkey or full service contracts (concession), leasing arrangements (affermage), or management contracts (prestations de service). About 80 per cent of French people receive their water supply under public-private contracts, and about half the sewage treatment plants in France are operated by private firms. Relatively few private companies dominate the water supply and wastewater industry. Three are examined here. The Compagnie Generale des Eaux, founded in 1853, is the largest. By the late 1980.7, it employed 138,000 people and supplied water to 22 million people in France and another eight million people through its operations in Europe, North America, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. It also has...