3. Cooperation in France: legislation and port authority initiatives

3.1 A formal cooperation approach, enshrined in law

As part of the 2008 reform of major seaports, the legislator introduced the notion of coordination, enabling the executive (the government) to create inter-port coordination councils by decree. They take their place between national port policy (defined in a policy document in 2013 – la stratégie nationale de relance portuaire-) and the strategic projects of major seaports, documents drawn up for five years, validated by port supervisory boards and submitted to the government for approval.

The aim of the coordination councils is threefold: to limit competition between the ports within their scope, to encourage the development of bulk modes (presence of infrastructure managers), and to propose avenues for...