**4.6 France**

In France, Electricité Réseau Distribution France (ERDF) carried out an initial gas smart meter pilot project in 2011. From the start of 2010, the pilot project was carried out for 18 months in four regions (Auch, Saint-Omer, Laval and Pierre Bénite, and Etampes) with the installation of 18,500 meters. The obtained results support the idea that the smart meter is essential to achieve efficiency and reliable operation of the natural gas system. The utilization of smart meters made consumers aware of their consumption which, together with the use of demand response, resulted in savings of 0.9% in the gas consumption as gathered by Drozdowski and Vandamme [24].

In 2017, the French gas company GRDF started a huge smart gas meter rollout that should drive the replacement of 11 million traditional gas meters with an investment of 1 billion euros. To achieve this goal, the French gas infrastructure started an upgrade of the existing technological infrastructure to be able to meet the highest communication system standards. The full rollout of 11 million meters is expected to be complete by the end of 2022 [25]. Nowadays, the French rollout is ongoing according to the agreed planning. Six million meters had been already installed at the end of 2020, with an average value of 150,000 meters per month.
