French Public Procurement 2025 in Numbers: Values, Competition, SME Rates — DECP Analysis

This analysis is based on Données Essentielles de la Commande Publique (DECP), France's official public procurement registry, published as open data by the Ministry of Economy. Maître AO processed and structured 87,342 contracts awarded between January and December 2025, representing a total volume of €48.7 billion.

The data includes award amount, number of bidders, CPV code (European classification), buyer type, location, winner, and legal form. Statistics below are weighted averages, excluding contracts without declared amounts (approximately 12% of total).

1. Average contract value: €557,000. The median is much lower at €89,000, meaning most contracts are accessible to SMEs. Contracts over €5 million represent only 3.2% of total count but 61% of financial volume.

2. Average number of bidders: 4.3 per contract. This hides huge disparities: IT services contracts attract 7.1 bidders on average, while road works (VRD) attract only 2.8. Fewer than 3 bidders signals a high-probability opportunity.

3. SME win rate: 62%. By number of contracts, SMEs (under 250 employees) win nearly 2 out of 3 contracts. By financial volume, this drops to 34%, as large contracts go mainly to mid-size and large companies.

4. Single-bidder rate: 18%. Nearly one in five contracts attracts only one bidder. These concentrate in specialized works (elevators, waterproofing, rural road works) and rural services.

5. Average response deadline: 28 days. Median time between publication and deadline is 28 days for formal procedures, 15 days for adapted procedures (MAPA). Contracts with less than 15 days see 40% fewer bidders.

6. Renewal rate: 73%. For contracts that expired in 2025 and were republished, the incumbent won the new contract in 73% of cases. This rises to 81% in recurring services (cleaning, security, catering).

7. Local authorities share: 54%. Municipalities, inter-municipal bodies, departments, and regions account for 54% of published contracts. Central government 28%, healthcare 12%, social housing 6%.

8. Price vs quality weighting: 42/58. On average, price weighting is 42% and technical criteria 58%. This varies strongly: 70% price in supplies, 35% price in intellectual services.

By crossing the SME win rate, average bidder count, and financial volume, five sectors stand out as most favorable to SMEs in 2025:

1. Cleaning services (CPV 90910000) — 78% SME win rate, 3.1 average bidders, €2.3 billion volume. Technical criteria average 65%. Municipal building cleaning contracts are the most accessible.

2. Green spaces and landscaping (CPV 77310000) — 82% SME, 2.9 bidders, €890 million. Highest SME rate sector. Rural contracts often attract only 1-2 bidders.

3. Electrical maintenance and works (CPV 45310000) — 71% SME, 3.4 bidders, €1.8 billion. Multi-year framework agreements offer significant financial visibility.

4. IT services and software (CPV 72000000) — 58% SME, 7.1 bidders, €4.2 billion. Higher competition but substantial volume. Buyers strongly value technical expertise (70% technical weight average).

5. Professional training (CPV 80530000) — 74% SME, 3.6 bidders, €1.1 billion. Qualiopi-certified training providers have a decisive advantage. Regional contracts represent 68% of volume.

This DECP data reveals concrete strategies to maximize win rates:

Strategy 1: Target low-competition contracts. 18% of contracts attract only one bidder. These opportunities concentrate in specialized rural works, niche services, and short-deadline contracts. Maître AO's Radar tool automatically identifies these low-competition contracts.

Strategy 2: Prepare for renewals in advance. With a 73% renewal rate, incumbents have a considerable advantage. But 27% of contracts change holder. The key: identify contracts expiring 6 months before republication, prepare references and technical proposals. DECP data provides expiry dates.

Strategy 3: Adapt price/quality positioning by sector. An exceptional technical proposal won't compensate for an unrealistic price. In supplies (70% price weight), focus on price competitiveness. In intellectual services (35% price), invest in technical proposal quality. Maître AO automatically calculates likely weighting and adjusts recommendations.

Maître AO integrates DECP data directly into every tender analysis. When you upload consultation documents, the platform automatically enriches your analysis with: the average value of similar contracts (same CPV code, same area), previous winners and their consecutive win count, average bidder count for this contract type, and a renewal prediction if the contract is a renewal.

This information feeds the Go/No-Go score out of 100, helping you decide in minutes whether a contract is worth your time investment. Data in this article is updated quarterly in the platform.