The Order no. 2016-360 provides for four main procedures to award public contracts:

• open/restricted procedure (articles 66 to 70), which can be used to choose the economically most advantageous tender, without negotiation, on the basis of objective criteria brought to the prospective bidders' attention beforehand;
• competitive procedure with negotiation (articles 71 to 73 - for all authorities but those executing network activities) and negotiated procedure with prior call for competition (article 74 - for contracting authorities and public entities executing network activities, as well as private entities operating on the basis of special or exclusive rights for network activities), whereby contracting authorities may negotiate contract terms with one or several economic operators authorised to take part to negotiations;
• competitive dialogue (articles 75 and 76), which can be used when the contracting entity is unable to determine the technical means to meet its requirements, or, when it is unable to establish a project's legal or financial particulars; and
• adapted procedure (article 27) which can be mainly used when the estimated amount of the contract is below the thresholds laid down in Directive 2014/24/EU, i.e. €135,000 (VAT excluded) for services and supplies contracts for the State and its public bodies; €209,000 (VAT excluded) for services and supplies contracts for local authorities, health public bodies; €5,225,000 (VAT excluded) for works.

Order no. 2016-360 implements article 22 and 53 of Directive 2024/24/EU and provides for some mandatory rules concerning electronic means and procedures.

Pursuant to article 36, contract notices to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union (ie. for contracts the value of which exceeds the thresholds laid down in Directive 2024/24/EU) are transmitted by electronic means to the Publications Office of the European Union. They are in turn published electronically.

According to article 39, tender documents relating to procurement contracts the value of which exceeds the thresholds set by Directive 2024/24/EU are made available by electronic means to economic operators. So are tender documents relating to contracts entered into by the State, its public bodies other than those of an industrial and commercial nature, local authorities, their public bodies and groups, the value of which equals or exceeds 90 000 euros (excluding tax).

Pursuant to article 40, the State, its public bodies other than those of an industrial and commercial nature, local authorities, their public bodies and groups cannot refuse to receive applications and tenders by electronic means. Further, applications and tenders regarding procurements contracts for the supply of computers or computer services entered into by the State, its public bodies other than those of an industrial and commercial nature, local authorities, their public bodies and groups are transmitted by electronic means.

Other than the cases mentioned above, the use of electronic means and procedures is currently optional. Article 40 enables contracting authorities to impose the electronic transmission of applications and tenders on economic operators.

However, tender documents relating to all procurement contracts the contract notice of which will be published after 1^st October 2018 will have to be made available by electronic means to economic operators (article 39). In addition, article 41 states that communications and information exchanges regarding contracts, the contract notice of which will be published after 1^st October 2018, will have to be performed electronically, save some exceptions (for example, contracting authorities will not be enabled to impose the use of electronic means of information and communication in the case of negotiated procedures without prior publication).

Contract notices and contract award notices relating to procurement contracts the value of which exceeds the thresholds laid down in Directive 2024/24/EU are published on the website Tenders Electronic Daily (TED): http://ted.europa.eu/TED/main/HomePage.do

Pursuant to article 33, 34 and 104 of Order no. 2016-360, contract notices and contract award notices relating to procurement contracts entered into by the State, its public bodies other than those of an industrial and commercial nature, local authorities, their public bodies and groups and the value of which exceeds the thresholds set in Directive 2024/24/EU are published on the website "Bulletin officiel des annonces des marchés publics" (BOAMP): http://www.boamp.fr/Contract notices relating to procurement contracts entered into by the contracting authorities mentioned above the value of which ranges from 90 000 euros (excluding tax) to the thresholds laid down in Directive 2024/24/EU may also be published on the BOAMP website (article 34 of Order no. 2016-360).

The following prospective bidders are barred from bidding for public contracts:

• bidders which have been convicted for specific criminal offences;
• bidders convicted for specific offences listed in the French Labour Code;
• bidders which have not submitted the tax and social-security returns for which they were responsible,
• bidders which have not paid the taxes and contributions due by that date; and
• bidders in distress.