A laser–plasma interaction experiment was performed in order to match effective conditions for wake-field electron acceleration. A 30-fs pulse was made to interact with a preformed plasma generated via the exploding foil technique from a 1-μm-thick plastic film. The irradiance of the femtosecond pulse in the plasma was 1020 Wcm−2. The interaction conditions were investigated via imaging and spectroscopy at the fundamental and the second harmonic of the laser frequency, both forward and backward. Our data clearly show that conditions suitable for electron acceleration are achieved close to the propagation axis and can be easily reproduced from shot to shot. In contrast, significant growth of instabilities occurs at the boundaries of the interaction region. These observations are consistent with a preliminary evidence of forward acceleration of high-energy electrons. Optical, X-ray, and γ-ray data obtained for different positions of the foil target with respect to the laser focal plane further support this promising scenario.