Private vs public collective catering in France: what changes for a supplier

In France, collective catering (restauration collective, i.e. institutional food service) covers very different realities — school canteen, hospital, EHPAD (a French residential care home for elderly dependent people), company restaurant, university restaurant — whose legal regime and way of selecting suppliers differ significantly depending on whether it falls under the public or the private sector. This guide clarifies that distinction for a producer looking to identify the right outlet.

What distinguishes public and private collective catering

• Public collective catering: school canteens, university restaurants (CROUS, the French regional student-services bodies), public hospitals, public EHPADs, administrations. Subject to the French Public Procurement Code, and therefore to formal tenders — see our guide on becoming a canteen supplier.
• Private collective catering: company restaurants, private clinics, private EHPADs. Falls under private-law purchasing, with broader contractual freedom and no obligation to hold a public tender.

Do the EGalim thresholds apply to the private sector?

Yes, since 1 January 2024, and with no public-service-mission condition.

It was Article 257 of the Climate and Resilience law that extended the obligation. Since that date, private collective catering — a company restaurant, for example — must serve meals comprising 50% sustainable and quality products, of which 20% organic, and 60% for the meat and fish families. That last rate rises to 100% only in collective restaurants run by the State, its public establishments and national public undertakings — not in a municipal canteen, nor in a private company restaurant.

The 2018 EGalim law had first targeted public collective catering and catering entrusted with a public service (canteens, EHPADs…). The 2024 extension removed that boundary: a purely private company restaurant, with no link whatsoever to a public-service mission, is now subject to the same thresholds.

The text in force now says so in a single sentence: since Law No 2026-796 of 18 August 2026 (Article 8), the first paragraph of Article L230-5-1 of the French Rural Code covers meals served in collective restaurants “dont les personnes morales de droit public et les personnes morales de droit privé ont la charge” (run by public-law and private-law legal persons). The same law added, within the 50%, a share of at least 30% for organic products (including in-conversion), products carrying another official quality sign or mention under Article L. 640-2, and products made from them — unprocessed products, or first-processing foodstuffs made of at least 95% such products — taken together. Organic counts towards that 30%: it does not come on top of the 20% organic, it includes it. This rule, too, is common to both sectors.

One difference reappeared in 2026, and it concerns only the public sector: the new paragraph II bis of the same article requires collective restaurants run by public-law legal persons to serve only products originating in the European Union, the European Economic Area or the overseas countries and territories, unless supply of a non-substitutable product is insufficient. It applies to contracts for which the consultation was launched, or the contract notice sent for publication, after the law was promulgated. A private company restaurant is not bound by it. Paragraph II ter of the same article also sets it aside in the overseas authorities governed by Article 73 of the Constitution, in Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

This point deserves emphasis because the public/private distinction remains true for the way of buying — a formal tender on one side, contractual freedom on the other — and people spontaneously, and wrongly, infer that it also holds for the obligations on what goes on the plate. It no longer does, with the single exception, since 2026, of where the products come from.

How to approach each type of outlet

• Public: monitor public-procurement platforms (BOAMP, France’s official public-procurement notices bulletin, and local authorities’ buyer profiles), answer a formal tender with the selection criteria published in advance — see our dedicated guide for the method. Not everything is formalised, though, and that is the most accessible way in: see the thresholds below.
• Private: a direct commercial approach to the catering manager (often a contract-catering company under contract with the client company), or to the purchasing department of the company itself if catering is managed in-house. The commercial relationship is built more on time and trust than on a formal application.

Public-procurement thresholds, and the one that changed in 2026

A French public buyer is not required to launch a formal procedure for every purchase. The thresholds matter to a producer, because the lowest is the one that makes a direct relationship possible.

• Below €60,000 excluding VAT (supplies and services), a buyer may award a contract without prior advertising or competitive tendering. This threshold used to be €40,000 excluding VAT; it was raised by Decree No 2025-1386 of 29 December 2025, with effect from 1 April 2026. For works, it rose to €100,000 excluding VAT on 1 January 2026.
• Above the European thresholds, the formal procedure is mandatory: since 1 January 2026, €140,000 excluding VAT for central government authorities and €216,000 excluding VAT for other contracting authorities, for supplies and services.
• In between, the procedure is adapted: the buyer sets its terms freely, while respecting the principles of public procurement.

Raising the threshold from €40,000 to €60,000 therefore concretely widens the zone in which a canteen can buy directly from a producer, without a procedure. Note, however, that the threshold for declaring the contract’s essential data remains at €40,000 excluding VAT — exemption from procedure is not exemption from transparency.

Contract-catering companies: an intermediary worth knowing

A large share of collective catering, public and private alike, is delegated to contract-catering companies (SRC, sociétés de restauration collective) that handle procurement on behalf of their clients. A producer seeking to enter these channels gains from identifying these companies directly, rather than approaching each establishment individually — a listing with an SRC can open access to several sites it manages at once.

Common mistakes

• Believing a private company restaurant escapes the EGalim thresholds — it has been subject to them since 1 January 2024, with or without a public-service mission. Only the 2026 European-origin requirement is specific to the public sector.
• Answering a public contract as you would a private negotiation — a public application follows strict formalities that direct commercial negotiation does not impose.
• Ignoring the role of contract-catering companies by approaching only the end establishments, even though part of the purchasing decision rests with them.

Checklist

1. Identify whether the targeted outlet falls under the public sector (Public Procurement Code) or the private sector.
2. Take it as given that the EGalim thresholds apply to the outlet in both cases; for a public contract launched since 18 August 2026, also check the European origin of your products.
3. Spot the contract-catering companies active in your area, public and private alike.
4. Adapt your commercial approach to the real selection method of the targeted outlet.

Sources

• Les mesures de la loi EGalim, complétée par la loi Climat et résilience (The measures of the EGalim law, supplemented by the Climate and Resilience law), ma cantine — extension to the private sector on 1 January 2024 (Article 257).
• Article L230-5-1 du Code rural et de la pêche maritime (Article L230-5-1 of the French Rural and Maritime Fishing Code), Légifrance — version in force since 20 August 2026, amended by Law No 2026-796 of 18 August 2026 (Art. 8): public and private catering in the first paragraph, 30% share including organic, 100% of meat and fish products in State-run catering, European origin in paragraph II bis, overseas exception in paragraph II ter.
• Loi n° 2026-796 du 18 août 2026, article 8 (Law No 2026-796 of 18 August 2026, Article 8), Légifrance — paragraph II bis applies to consultations launched after promulgation.
• Décret n° 2025-1386 du 29 décembre 2025 (Decree No 2025-1386 of 29 December 2025), Légifrance — raising of the exemption thresholds.
• Nouveaux seuils européens applicables au 1er janvier 2026 (New European thresholds applicable from 1 January 2026), DAJ Bercy (the French Ministry of the Economy’s legal affairs directorate).

Checked on 17 August 2026; public/private scope rechecked on 25 September 2026.