EDF and Gaz de France  : a surprising joint venture à la française

In 1951, EDF (Electricité de France) and Gaz de France produced a lengthy agreement which laid down the foundations for a common management of their distribution. This document in particular produced hard and fast rules on how costs were to be shared. This joint management, which later became EDF GDF Services, and later on, EDF Gaz de France Distribution, grew steadily and in the end employed as many as one hundred thousand people. It survived for more than fifty years, experiencing both the highs and lows of each company and maintained relationships with them which were both productive and stormy. Didier Holleaux, who was the director responsible for EDF GDF Services, retraces the story of this alliance à la française, and recalls the economic, legal and symbolic issues at stake which gradually changed relations between the two companies regarding distribution. He discusses the lessons which can be learned from this experience in the field of joint ventures.