ABSTRACT. Orange contends that the French territorial architecture is quite original for several reasons. As Anderson puts it, the French administrative language of the EU has its origins in the French administrative register of the middle of the 20th century. Lavrijssen and de Visser write that national competition or regulatory authorities respectively have emerged as the main authorities in charge of the application and enforcement of the law. Cole and Jones examine the administrative reform process in France since the late 1980s: the key reforms undertaken have sought to delegate greater managerial autonomy to the ministerial field-service level. Kuhlmann and Fedele observe that, in the utility sector, municipal suppliers are almost everywhere in a minority position.