The CRE has told the French government the GDF group – which also includes Portugal’s EDPR and Neon Marine – should be favoured in the contest, said Les Echoes and Le Figaro – which did not cite sources but are both respected commentators on French policy and business issues.

Developers were invited last year to bid for two 500MW zones – the first off the coast of Le Tréport, in the northwestern Haute-Normandie region, and the second between the islands of Yeu and Noirmoutier, south of Brittany.

The