In France, local authorities have a unique lever to intervene in the local economy without relinquishing public control: the mixed-economy company. This hybrid structure, halfway between public management and private dynamics, occupies a distinctive place in the institutional landscape.
According to the Eplscope 2025 barometer from the Federation of Elected Officials of Local Public Enterprises (FedEpl), as of June 1, 2025, there are 857 active mixed-economy companies in the territory, integrated into a larger group of 1,486 local public enterprises.
Distribution of a mixed-economy company’s capital: what the 50-85% rule changes concretely
A mixed-economy company is a public limited company. Its operation falls under the commercial code, with a board of directors, a general assembly, and auditors. The uniqueness lies in the composition of its capital: local authorities or their groupings must hold between 50% and 85% of the shares.
This 50% floor ensures that the local authority retains decision-making power. The 85% ceiling requires the presence of at least one private shareholder, which distinguishes the mixed-economy company from a local public company (SPL), which is 100% owned by public actors.
Private shareholders can be banks, construction companies, service operators, or chambers of commerce. Their contribution is not limited to capital: they inject technical skills, commercial networks, and a management culture focused on profitability. For everything you need to know about mixed-economy companies, this public-private duality constitutes the legal foundation to master before any operational analysis.
Law No. 83-597 of July 7, 1983, established the foundational framework. Several texts have since adjusted it, notably the law of January 2, 2002, which modernized the status of mixed-economy companies. This status is codified in Articles L.1521-1 to L.1525-3 of the CGCT. A mixed-economy company must have at least seven partners.
Areas of intervention for mixed-economy companies in urban planning and public services
The social purpose of a mixed-economy company covers a broad spectrum, but always anchored in local public interest. The historical areas remain urban planning, the construction of social housing, and the management of public services (water, transportation, parking, cultural or sports facilities).
Since the 2000s, the legislator has expanded this scope. Mixed-economy companies can now intervene in:
- The operation of heating networks or renewable energy installations, a rapidly growing sector in local climate policies.
- Landholding and urban renewal operations, where they play a role as delegated project managers on behalf of local authorities.
- Territorial digital development, particularly the deployment of fiber optic networks in sparsely populated areas.
This diversification responds to a concrete need: local authorities are facing increasingly complex projects from a technical and financial standpoint. The mixed-economy company offers a legal framework that allows for mobilizing private investments without going through a traditional public service delegation.
Economic weight of local public enterprises: data from the Eplscope 2025 barometer
The debate on the usefulness of mixed-economy companies becomes clearer when looking at the aggregated figures. All local public enterprises (mixed-economy companies, SPLs, SEMOPs) represent a total revenue of 19.49 billion euros in 2024 and employ 66,282 people directly.
The 857 mixed-economy companies do not operate in isolation. They control 610 subsidiaries and hold 911 minority stakes, bringing the ecosystem to over 3,000 companies under local public control. The total value added, both direct and induced, reaches 25.7 billion euros, with a socio-economic footprint estimated at 257,000 jobs.
This data, from the Eplscope 2025 barometer published by FedEpl and relayed by the Terram Institute, shows that mixed-economy companies are not marginal structures. They constitute a dense network, particularly active in urban planning and housing.
What equity reveals
With 37.2 billion euros in total equity, local public enterprises have a financial base that allows them to raise debt and co-finance large operations. This investment capacity is a central argument for local elected officials who choose the mixed-economy company over direct management or concession.
Limits and points of vigilance for shareholder local authorities
The mixed-economy company is not a risk-free tool. The financial responsibility of shareholder local authorities is limited to their contributions, in accordance with the law on public limited companies.
The financial assistance (advances, grants, loan guarantees) that local authorities provide to their mixed-economy companies can, however, involve amounts well above the subscribed capital.
The control exercised by the local authority, although majority, remains that of a shareholder. It is not a control similar to that exercised over its own services, which distinguishes the mixed-economy company from the SPL in terms of competition law. A mixed-economy company does not benefit from the “in-house” relationship: it must be put out to tender to obtain public contracts or concessions, except for regulated exceptions.
Field feedback varies on the actual capacity of elected officials to influence daily governance. The board of directors remains the decision-making body, and the presence of private shareholders can create tensions over the balance between profitability and public service mission.
- The auditor and the representative of the local authority on the board of directors are the two main control locks.
- The Regional Chamber of Accounts can audit a mixed-economy company as part of the control of organizations benefiting from public financial assistance.
- Annual activity reports must be communicated to the deliberative assemblies of the shareholder local authorities.
The legal framework thus imposes formal transparency, but the effectiveness of control largely depends on the political will and technical means mobilized by the local authority to monitor its investments.
The mixed-economy company remains a tool for local economic intervention whose relevance is measured project by project. Its strength lies in the public-private hybridization. Its fragility too: the balance between public interest and shareholder logic requires active governance, not just statutory.