France
All the latest key telecoms and digital infra insight, news and analysis from France.
Financial & Performance
Altice France clears €8.6bn in debt and opens door to SFR sale
Embattled French group firms up major business restructure seeing founder Patrick Drahi reduce his stake, group of creditors gain a 45%-holding, and former Vodafone CEO Nick Read join Board of Directors as part of a governance rejig.
Financial & Performance
Eutelsat shareholders inject funds to cut debt, boost LEO buildout
Satellite operator’s Board of Directors given the go-ahead for capital increase at Annual General Meeting, with plans to utilise funding to deleverage and advance satellite constellation ambitions.
Public Affairs
Orange pushes ahead with its own agenda as regulatory change drags on
Christel Heydemann points out that Orange is not waiting for EU merger guidelines to be revisited before considering measures that would create synergies, as it did in Spain.
Analyst Briefings
Francewatch Analyst Briefing: Unions revolt as Orange presses ahead with Regain
The inaugural edition of the Francewatch briefing, where we explore the latest developments at Orange France, rivals including Altice France, Bouygues Telecom, and Iliad, local infracos, and the diaspora of French telecoms players…
Public Affairs
Orange faces union disquiet over plan to simplify French operations
The ‘Regain’ plan is now in the consultation phase, but unions are unhappy with multiple aspects of the proposals. No job cuts are planned, but the number of departments could be slashed to four, and five major centres replaced by nine smaller ones.
M&A
TDF sale speculation: American Tower and Ardian are latest names in frame
Bidders are said to be circling the French wireless infraco and a sale is estimated to be worth up to €10bn.
Network & Infra
Orange France wins Europe’s race to ten million fibre customers
Orange becomes the first major European telco to pass ten million fibre customers in its domestic market, with Orange France CEO Jérôme Hénique eyeing further improvements to user experience and network in the near future…
Network & Infra
France’s SFR moves on from cable and puts full faith in fibre
Around 400,000 households are still using SFR’s cable services in France, but are being encouraged to migrate to FTTH services.
People
France’s TDF installs new towerco boss
French wireless infra group names Nicolas Gibergues as Managing Director of business’ Towerco unit, claiming his international and sector-specific experience will enable it to compete in an “increasingly competitive” infra market…
Analyst Briefings
Orangewatch Analyst Briefing: MásOrange’s grand plans, 2G sunset in France, and OpenAI in Africa
From finalising the French 2G sunset and expanding its OpenAI partnership for African markets, to navigating a complex competitive landscape in Spain, Orange Group is again making significant strategic moves. We break down the key developments in this essential briefing for Orange insiders.
Network & Infra
Orange firms up French 2G sunset timeline
Operator plans to retire its 2G network by end of 2026, with Anglet, Bayonne, and Biarritz set to be the first locations for the switch-off next year.