French General Code of Local Authorities
In forceTerritorial authorities may associate for the exercise of their competences by creating public cooperation bodies in the forms and conditions provided for by the legislation in force.
The category of groupings of territorial collectivities includes public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation and mixed syndicates, mentioned in articles L. 5711-1 and L. 5721-8, metropolitan poles, territorial and rural balance poles, departmental agencies, interdepartmental institutions or bodies and interregional agreements.
Agreements for the provision of services may be concluded between the départements, the Lyon metropolitan area, the regions, their public establishments, their groupings and mixed syndicates. Agreements with the same purpose may also be entered into between public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation, public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation and the Metropole de Lyon or between communes. Agreements with the same purpose may also be concluded, in order to develop synergies with rural territories, between a metropolis or an urban community, on the one hand, and public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation or municipalities located outside the metropolitan territory or the urban community, on the other hand, as part of the implementation of the territorial cohesion contracts mentioned in II of article L. 1231-2. When the services they provide in application of this paragraph relate to non-economic services of general interest within the meaning of European Union law or when, relating to other public interest missions, the services are to be provided under the conditions set out in I and III of article L. 5111-1-1, these agreements are not subject to the rules set out in the public procurement code. Participation in the financing of a service cannot, on its own, be assimilated to cooperation within the meaning of this paragraph.
