Paragraph 4: Common provisions

Municipalities and their public cooperation establishments exercising jurisdiction over drinking water or sanitation may also, as an accessory to this jurisdiction, within the framework of the same operation and in addition to carrying out works relating to drinking water distribution networks or collective sanitation, ensure the project management and maintenance of civil engineering infrastructures intended for the passage of electronic communications networks, including ducts and drawing chambers, subject to, when the jurisdictions mentioned in article L. 1425-1 are exercised by another territorial authority or another public cooperation establishment, an agreement is signed with that authority or establishment determining the areas in which these works may be carried out.

The laying of cables in the said infrastructures by a local authority or a public cooperative body exercising the powers defined in article L. 1425-1, or by an electronic communications operator, is subject to the collection, by the authority organising the drinking water or sanitation service concerned, of rents, contributions or subsidies. This organising authority opens an annexed budget enabling compliance with the principle of equilibrium provided for in article L. 2224-1 to be recorded.

The involvement of local authorities and their public cooperative bodies guarantees the shared use of infrastructures established or acquired pursuant to this article and respects the principle of equality and free competition on the electronic communications markets. The interventions of the local authorities and their public cooperation establishments shall be carried out under objective, transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate conditions.

Municipalities and their public cooperative establishments exercising competence for drinking water distribution or sanitation, which are the contracting authorities for the above-mentioned civil engineering infrastructures, benefit from the provisions set out in the second and third paragraphs of Article L. 332-11-1 of the French town planning code as it stood prior to Law No. 2014-1655 of 29 December 2014 on the rectifying finance act for 2014.