The French government has launched the privatization process of the airports of Nice Côte d'Azur and Lyon Saint-Exupéry.

The French State is entitled to sell the 60 percent share that it owns in those airport companies. The other shareholders are the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry (25 percent) and local authorities (15 percent).

The bidders must come forward before March 24, 2016 and the selected candidates must present their first indicative offers before April 28, 2016 (Nice) or May 12, 2016 (Lyon). The government will consult the local authorities, and the selected candidates must submit their best and final offers before June 20, 2016 (Nice) or July 7, 2016 (Lyon).

The selection criteria will be the subject of intense scrutiny: concerns have arisen since the awarding of the State stake in the Toulouse airport to a Chinese consortium that offered the best price and eliminated the traditional operators. Bidders must now provide evidence of their previous experience in managing airports. However, the main criteria should remain the financial interests of the French State.

Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (2014 turnover: €231.6 million) is valued at approximately €1.5 billion (US$1.672 billion). It is an international airport located 5.9 km southwest of Nice, in the Alpes-Maritimes department of France. It is the third busiest airport in France. In 2013, it handled 11.55 million passengers. The airport's theoretical capacity is 13 million passengers and 52 movements (26 landings) per hour.

Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport (2014 turnover: €158.4 million) is valued at approximately €900 million (US$1 billion). It is the international airport of Lyon, the third biggest city in France and an important transport facility for the entire Rhône-Alpes region. In 2013, the airport served 8.56 million passengers, an increase of 1.3% over the previous year. Air freight increased by 22.7% to 44,820 tones, although overall aircraft movements dropped by 2.8% to 113,420.

The tender specifications are available (in French) on the French State Investments Agency (Agence des Participations de l'Etat) website, respectively under Côte d'Azur (Nice) Airport (closing expected before October 13, 2016) and Lyon airport (closing expected before October 27, 2016).