The procedure for awarding a partnership contract may only be initiated if the purchaser demonstrates that, taking into account the characteristics of the planned project, the requirements of the public service or the mission of general interest with which the purchaser is entrusted, or the shortcomings and difficulties observed in the implementation of comparable projects, the use of such a contract presents a more favourable balance sheet, particularly in financial terms, than that of other methods of implementing the project. The criterion of deferred payment alone does not constitute an advantage.
The procedures for establishing this balance sheet are laid down by decree in the Conseil d’Etat.