France Telecom-Orange is closely watching the situation in Tunisia but has not been contacted by the new government about a possible nationalisation of the 51 percent stake in Orange Tunisia held by Marwan Mabrouk, a son-in-law of former president Ben Ali, Reuters reports. France Telecom's CFE-CGC/Unsa unions put out a press release stating that Tunisia's cabinet had approved a draft decree on 25 February to seize the assets of the former president and his family. Citing a report by press agency TAP listing 110 people facing asset seizures among former leaders, their families and associates, the unions called on the operator to quickly give its support to Orange Tunisia's employees and its will to maintain or expand its presence in the country. It asks whether the operator would be a candidate to buyout Marwan's stake and at what price. Orange told Reuters that the company's priority is to maintain the operation of Orange Tunisia. The operator has 800,000 customers in Tunisia, a country it entered in May 2010.
