Optical instruments market in France: size, suppliers and public contracts
Market size and key facts
In 2025, public buyers in France awarded 73 supply contracts for optical instruments through award notices on TED; the 48 of them that state a value (65.8%) add up to €21.2 million. France imported €543 million of goods in the customs headings matched to optical instruments in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 9002, 9013, 9006, 9005, 9007 and 2 more headings; all buyers, not only public ones), down 8.6% from 2023.
- Since November 2023, 140 companies have won 203 public supply contracts for optical instruments in France, in 141 award notices from 82 public buyers.
- 86.2% of these awards went to companies registered in France; the most frequent foreign origin is Germany.
- The five companies that win most often hold 10.8% of all awards.
- 38.8% of the awards whose notice states the number of tenders received a single bid.
In proportion
All public purchasing in France — general government spending on goods, services and investment, the measure the OECD and the European Commission use for public procurement — came to €486 billion in 2025, 16.2% of GDP (Eurostat). Award notices on TED cover only the contracts above the EU thresholds, so they show who wins, not the whole of that spending.
Source: Eurostat, government finance statistics (gov_10a_main, gov_10a_exp) and GDP (nama_10_gdp), retrieved 9 November 2026.
Updated · counted daily from contract award notices on TED and Eurostat international trade data · figures as JSON · free to quote with attribution (CC BY 4.0)
How to cite: Cresques, "Optical instruments market in France", https://cresques.com/markets/fr/386-optical-instruments, from TED contract award notices (© European Union) and Eurostat Comext, updated 13 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Winning companies
- 140
- since November 2023
- Award notices
- 141
- on TED
- Public buyers
- 82
- hospitals, schools, agencies
- Imports 2025
- €543.3M
- all buyers, Eurostat
The market in numbers
Public supply contracts in France: award notices published on TED from 2023-11 to 2026-11, by publication year.
- Contracts awarded
- 203
- in 141 award notices
- Awarded value
- €90.5M
- from 67% of awards with a published value
- Winning companies
- 140
- with at least one award
- Public buyers
- 82
- hospitals, cities, agencies
Table view
| 2024 | 54 |
| 2025 | 73 |
| 2026 | 76 |
Table view
| 2024 | €11.4M |
| 2025 | €21.2M |
| 2026 | €57.9M |
- Other1
Table view
| Universities, schools and research | 112 |
| Cities, regions and central administration | 58 |
| Hospitals and health services | 11 |
| Armed forces and defence agencies | 5 |
| Police, fire services and prisons | 5 |
| Culture, sport and religion | 5 |
| Water utilities | 4 |
| Environment and waste | 2 |
| Other | 1 |
- Ile de France55FR10
- Rhône-Alpes28FRK2
- Bretagne21FRH0
- Aquitaine16FRI1
- Languedoc-Roussillon12FRJ1
- Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur11FRL0
- Pays de la Loire10FRG0
- Nord-Pas de Calais7FRE1
Table view
| Ile de France | 55 |
| Rhône-Alpes | 28 |
| Bretagne | 21 |
| Aquitaine | 16 |
| Languedoc-Roussillon | 12 |
| Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur | 11 |
| Pays de la Loire | 10 |
| Nord-Pas de Calais | 7 |
- Large companies
- Medium-sized
- Small
- Micro
- SME (size not stated)
- Size not stated
Table view
| Large companies | 27 · 13.3% |
| Medium-sized | 19 · 9.4% |
| Small | 4 · 2% |
| Micro | 1 · 0.5% |
| SME (size not stated) | 85 · 41.9% |
| Size not stated | 67 · 33% |
- Germany9
- Netherlands6
- Lithuania4
- Denmark2
- Belgium2
- United Kingdom1
Table view
| Germany | 9 |
| Netherlands | 6 |
| Lithuania | 4 |
| Denmark | 2 |
| Belgium | 2 |
| United Kingdom | 1 |
- Under €2M turnover
- €2M–10M
- €10M–50M
- €50M and more
Table view
| Under €2M turnover | 8 · 11% |
| €2M–10M | 24 · 32.9% |
| €10M–50M | 20 · 27.4% |
| €50M and more | 21 · 28.8% |
Table view
| 2023 | €594.5M |
| 2024 | €567.3M |
| 2025 | €543.3M |
- Gif Sur Yvette38
- Lyon20
- Rennes20
- Talence15
- Paris9
- Montpellier9
- Strasbourg7
- NANCY5
Table view
| Gif Sur Yvette | 38 |
| Lyon | 20 |
| Rennes | 20 |
| Talence | 15 |
| Paris | 9 |
| Montpellier | 9 |
| Strasbourg | 7 |
| NANCY | 5 |
73 of 116 winning companies registered in France have annual accounts in the open business registers; bands follow the EU SME turnover thresholds.
Imports: Eurostat Comext, customs headings 9002, 9013, 9006, 9005, 9007, 9010, 9008 (only headings whose trade is mainly this category); all buyers, not only public ones.
Awards to companies registered in France
86.2%
28 awards went to companies registered elsewhere.
Share of the 5 biggest winners
10.8%
Of all awards; a high share means a concentrated market.
Lots with a single bid
38.8%
Among 178 awards whose notice states the number of tenders.
How we count: one award per procedure, lot and winning company, from live contract award notices; a joint procurement counts on every buyer's market. Values are the awarded amounts published in the notice (framework ceilings and estimates are never added), converted to euro at the ECB yearly average. Company size is the SME flag of the notice (eForms BT-165). Read the methodology.
The same category across Europe: all 30 countries compared →
Among the companies that win most often
- Quantum Design Sarl25 public contracts in total
- Menlo Systems GmbH25 public contracts in total
- Bruker France SAS84 public contracts in total
- Ametek SAS19 public contracts in total
- Raith GmbH24 public contracts in total
Where this industry meets in France
- BioFITConference · Marseille, France
- Forum LABO ParisTrade fair · Paris, France
- BIO-Europe SpringConference · Lyon, France
- analytica ChinaTrade fair · Shanghai, China
- SLAS International Conference & ExhibitionConference · San Diego, United States
- PittconConference · Pittsburgh, United States
Watch this market
One e-mail a week with the new public contract awards for optical instruments in France: what was bought, by whom, who won. Free, no account needed.
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Which of these 140 companies could distribute your product?
A Cresques market map of France for this category shows the companies that win these contracts: how often, for how many buyers and for how much, and whether the leading ones are distributors or manufacturers.
Open this market map — freeFree account, no card: one market map, showing the first 5 companies with their contract awards. Paid plans show every company.
After sign-in the new-market form opens with France and Optical instruments filled in.
No account yet? Ask for a free preview.
One page by e-mail within one working day: three distributors that already win public contracts for this kind of product in the country you choose, each one checked (is it a distributor, or a manufacturer's own sales company?), with its contract record, and the price of the full shortlist. If we can find fewer than three, the reply says so.
Read how to enter the France market.
Questions
- Who wins public contracts for optical instruments in France?
- 140 companies won 141 contract award notices for these categories from 82 public buyers in France since November 2023. The companies that win most often are Quantum Design Sarl, Menlo Systems GmbH, Bruker France SAS, Ametek SAS, Raith GmbH.
- How big is the optical instruments market in France?
- In 2025, public buyers in France awarded 73 supply contracts for optical instruments through award notices on TED; the 48 of them that state a value (65.8%) add up to €21.2 million. France imported €543 million of goods in the customs headings matched to optical instruments in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 9002, 9013, 9006, 9005, 9007 and 2 more headings; all buyers, not only public ones), down 8.6% from 2023.
- Where do suppliers of optical instruments meet buyers and distributors in France?
- At trade fairs and congresses such as BioFIT, Forum LABO Paris, BIO-Europe Spring, analytica China, SLAS International Conference & Exhibition, Pittcon — each checked on the organiser's official website.
- How do I find a distributor for optical instruments in France?
- Create a free Cresques account and open the market map for France and this category. It shows the companies that win public contracts there, how often, for how many buyers and for how much: the first 5 on the Free plan, every company on a paid plan. Where the data exists, the map also shows wholesalers from the business register, import figures and the industry's trade fairs.
Sources: contract award notices on TED — Tenders Electronic Daily (ted.europa.eu), © European Union, published since November 2023, processed by Cresques (one award per procedure and lot); imports: Eurostat, international trade in goods (Comext), © European Union — only the customs headings whose trade is mainly this category, chosen by Cresques.