Michel Debroux, an Avocat Associé with Herbert Smith’s Paris office, outlines some of the principal provisions of the Electricity Act of 10 February 2000 and describes the recent rapid evolution of liberalisation in France’s electricity market – in contrast to the lack of progress in this regard in the gas market.
Introduction
France has been late in implementing the EU Electricity Directive of 19 December 1996 (the "EU Directive"). The French Electricity Act of 10 February 2000 (the "Electricity Act") was published nearly one year behind schedule and it took a number of additional months until the key implementing decrees were published. Even today, certain pieces of the new French electricity jigsaw are still missing, although it is fair to say that most of the regulatory framework is now in place. In parallel, Electricité de France (EDF) has launched an unprecedented wave of acquisitions and joint ventures in neighbouring countries over the last years, that is gradually turning
