France Telecom shareholders have approved by a vote of over 99 percent the group's name change to Orange on 1 July. Orange is currently the brand used for all commercial operations (fixed, mobile, TV, internet) and corporate activities. Changing the name of the company and its shares is seen as "a natural step in the process towards the simplification and unity of the group's activities".
Chairman and CEO Stephane Richard told shareholders at the company AGM on 28 May that the name change did not bring any change to the status of its employees, reports La Tribune. Around 60 percent of staff at French operations are still civil servants, reflecting the group's origins as state-owned post and telephone operator.
