Public Perspectives on Contrats de Partenariat (CPs): Are They Beneficial to Service Network Management?

This article examines the development of a French form of public-private partnerships, the “contrat de partenariat” (CP) and its use by local governments. This type of contracts is presented by its proponents as innovative and promising. It is a relatively new tool for contracting with private companies, and as such ithas not been, as yet, often used by local authorities.
In this paper, special attention is paid to the issue of sustainable development and how it is taken into account throughout the implementation of CPs, from the definition of local government needs to the management of the contract. Some characteristics of CPs may in principle facilitate the inclusion of sustainability concerns. These supposed advantages are confronted with empirical evidence based on case studies of CPs signed for public lighting procurement.