Veolia

Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French multinational corporation. It is headquartered in Paris. Veolia operates in four main areas of the full-cycle economy: water supply and water treatment (for both municipal and industrial customers), public services (including cleaning and waste disposal), energy (power supply, microclimate support, installation and maintenance of energy and heating equipment), transport services (airport maintenance, management of rail transport and urban public transport).

History

In 1853, by imperial decree, the "Compagnie Générale des Eaux" (CGE) was created, which was engaged in the irrigation of fields and the supply of water to cities and villages (the first contract was the supply of Lyon, in 1860 the company received a concession for the supply of water in Paris). In 1867, a street cleaning company was founded in Nantes, and in 1870, another rag and paper collection company opened in Rouen and Chaun (both firms merged with CGE in 1980 and 1990, respectively). In 1875, the Compagnie Générale Française de Tramways (CGFT) was founded, which operated the tramways in Le Havre, Nancy and Marseille (it also merged with the CGE in 1980). In 1880, CGE entered the market of Venice, in 1882 - in Istanbul, in 1883 - in Porto, in 1884 - in Reims.

In December 2016, CDC finally bought 20% shares from Veolia. As a result, Veolia's share on the company reduced to 30%. This was sold in January 2019, marking Veolia's exit from the transport sector.