Article R2122-2 of the French Public procurement code
The purchaser may award a contract without prior advertising or competitive tendering where, in the cases defined below, either no applications or no tenders have been submitted within the prescribed time limits, or only inadmissible applications as defined in Article R. 2144-7 or unsuitable tenders as defined in Article L. 2152-4 have been submitted, and provided that the initial terms of the contract are not substantially altered: 1° Invitation to…