Stromwirtschaftsrecht in Frankreich

The European internal market for electricity remains incomplete. While technical reasons have their part in this, member states' legal frameworks also play a decisive role. As the situation in France clearly shows, long-standing monopolistic structures cannot be easily overcome. Since in French law, electricity supply is conceived as a public service obligation, and as the state enterprise EDF still dominates the electricity market, the French state determines market development to a large extent. Although these particular features do not entirely prevent the opening up of the market, accessing it does often prove to be difficult, with nuclear power's significant role further adding to the system's peculiarities. With the historical development of French energy law as a background, the author examines the current French law on electricity supply with a view to its relationship with EU liberalisation law.