Beyond Truffaut: when the public tender price makes the difference

GironaThe law on public sector contracts is based on the principles of free competition and equal opportunities. Any company, entity or person from all over Catalonia can submit bids for public tenders from the Catalan administration. This also applies to those from the Spanish State and any country in the European Union. The award committees are very demanding and do not accept any criteria that discriminate based on origin or nationality. However, these public tenders, necessary to guarantee transparency and prevent cronyism, sometimes result in surprising awards, with decisions that are difficult for citizens and the local business community to understand.

In Girona, the case of the Truffaut cinema has recently caused a stir, a municipal establishment managed for over 25 years by the Col·lectiu de Crítics, a non-profit entity with strong ties to Girona's culture, which has nurtured and developed a program of auteur cinema in its original version throughout this time. At the cinema's peak, with a record number of spectators, the City Council put the service out to tender and it was won by a company from Cambrils (Baix Camp), which proposes a project very similar to the current one, but with an economic offer 4,000 euros lower. The tender specifications prioritized the economic criterion and did not value aspects such as track record, ties with the city's entities, or the Col·lectiu's disinterested management. All of this has caused an uproar and has brought to the fore the tensions within the public tendering system for valuing cultural and third-sector projects. And the Truffaut case is not the only one.

The Revista de Girona was printed in Lleó

The Revista de Girona is a publication that publishes articles bimonthly on all kinds of topics related to the Girona region. It depends on the Diputació de Girona and all its activities go out to tender, from management and coordination to printing and design. Now, precisely, the management and coordination of the publication is to be renewed, and a company from Barcelona has submitted a bid for the public tender, so the paradox could arise that the Revista de Girona would be coordinated from Barcelona. The printing contract has also been renewed, which is currently held by Imprenta Pagès, from Anglès. However, between 2021 and 2025, the company awarded this service was Editorial MIC, from León, so every two months the layouts were sent to Castile and the copies were returned printed to Girona.

"The truth is that we are often affected by the fact that the market is open to all of Spain, we accept it with a certain resignation. We would prefer Catalan administrations to prioritize the territory's business fabric more, especially considering that other autonomous communities actively work to retain tenders within their scope," explains to l'ARA the Girona-based owner of a printing company. And he continues: "This is perceived as a loss of opportunities and saddens the entire graphic arts sector, especially considering that subsequent transport implies a higher environmental footprint."

Local communication 100 km away

Another paradigmatic case is that of the institutional communication of small town councils, which do not have the budget to hire permanent staff and put the service out to tender. On many occasions, large companies located kilometers away end up winning, also with the lowest economic offer. In the Girona regions, for example, La Jonquera, Begur, Roses, Camprodon, or Pals are all handled by the same company from Sant Cugat del Vallès. Marc Sureda, a journalist from Llagostera and co-founder of the local communication company Notidig and the portal Canal Ajuntament, knows the issue well. With his team and several collaborators on the ground, he works with a dozen town councils in Girona, ranging from 100 to 15,000 inhabitants. "There are some things that can be done remotely, but the wording of clauses should be improved to favor a response capacity within 30 minutes or an operational radius of 30 or 40 km. It makes no sense to have to travel 250 km to take a photograph. These things should be scored, just like the language," he argues. The contracting law does allow for conditions like these to be incorporated into the tender documents, but many town council technicians and secretaries opt for the generic formula and avoid them.

Local communication at 100 km distance An engineering company wins an international cooperation plan

In some courses, the price even reaches 100% of the weighting, so that the cheapest economic offer unequivocally wins, provided it does not incur in reckless low bidding. This is the case of the minor contract of less than €15,000 for the strategic plan for international relations from 2027 to 2037 of the Girona City Council for the next 10 years, which was put out to public tender in October 2025. 8 applicants submitted bids and a micro-enterprise from Sant Feliu de Pallerols won... an engineering one! With no visible track record in this field, it will be responsible for developing two internationalization master plans for 10 years. The second in the ranking was an innovation company from Asturias and only half of the applicants had accredited experience in internationalization plans. Along the same lines, another recent controversial case is that of the tender for the sale of books to schools in Girona, designed by the Diputación, which last November was won by an investment company from Barcelona, with no experience in the sector, a fact that has caused much discontent among booksellers, who are calling for “common sense” when drawing up the tender documents.

An engineering company wins an international cooperation plan