RATP successfully defends its €2 billion advertising concession award
Client(s) RATP
Jones Day advised RATP throughout the competitive tender process for the awarding of its concession to operate advertising business in the Paris subway. The Firm also represented RATP before the Paris Administrative Court in connection with the pre-contractual proceedings brought by the unsuccessful tenderers challenging the award procedure. The court dismissed the applicants’ claims in their entirety.
In a recent order, the Paris Administrative Court, sitting as a collegiate panel, addressed two significant legal issues. First, the court confirmed that Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 on foreign subsidies (the "FSR") may be invoked in pre-contractual proceedings. However, it held that the European Commission had been placed in a position to exercise its review powers before the contract was signed. Accordingly, the unsuccessful consortium could not establish that it had suffered any harm as a result. Second, the court also upheld the requirement for the successful concessionaire to take over 145 employees, finding that this obligation was necessary to ensure continuity of the service, given the unique technical characteristics of the Paris metro network.
The 12-year concession, valued at approximately €2 billion, covers more than 26,000 paper advertising displays, 17,000 displays on rolling stock, and 1,300 digital screens across RATP's metro, RER, and tramway networks.
This decision highlights Jones Day's experience in public procurement, administrative litigation, and European law, including in complex and strategically significant infrastructure and concession matters.
