Établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial

An établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial or EPIC is a category of public undertaking in France. It includes state-controlled entities of an industrial or commercial nature, including some research institutes and infrastructure operators. Some former French colonies, such as Algeria and Burkina Faso, also use this term for such agencies.

EPICs were first recognized as a specific form of public agencies by the Court of Arbitration's (Tribunal des Conflits) case law in 1921. In accordance with art. 34 of the French Constitution, they can only be created by a law.

Not every company whose capital is held by the state or a state-owned entity is an EPIC. An EPIC is under special laws which do not apply to enterprises under private company law, even if the capital of those companies is held by the state.

Former public service operations which have been turned into companies governed by private law include:

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