Orange notes the departure of its CEO Stéphane Richard after his conviction

Orange CEO Stéphane Richard during a press conference, February 13, 2020. AFP - ERIC PIERMONT

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Orange CEO Stéphane Richard is being pushed out.

He will be replaced by January 31 at the head of the telecommunications group he has led since 2010. The announcement of the board of directors follows his conviction on appeal on Wednesday, November 24 in the arbitration case Bernard Tapie.

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Stéphane Richard's future within Orange is now sealed.

The CEO had resigned and the board of directors meeting Wednesday evening said to take note of this decision.

He accepts the departure of the one who has led the group for more than ten years and whose mandate should have ended in mid-2022.

If he had formulated the "

" to remain chairman of the group at the end of his third term, by relinquishing the function of managing director, his ambition was shattered by his conviction.

This precipitous departure worries some unions, but the State, shareholder of Orange at 20%, had warned by the voice of Minister Bruno Lemaire.

A little earlier in the day, he had asked the Board of Directors to draw the consequences of the conviction of Stéphane Richard.

The latter was sentenced to a

and a fine of 50,000 euros for complicity in embezzlement of public funds in the Bernard Tapie-Credit Lyonnais arbitration case.

Stéphane Richard appeals to cassation

After a general acquittal in July 2019, the court of appeal ruled on Wednesday that the arbitration, which had awarded 403 million euros to Bernard Tapie and has since been canceled in civil proceedings, was indeed "

" in that it was biased towards the interests of the businessman.

At the time, he was the chief of staff of the Minister of the Economy Christine Lagarde.

The judges considered that he had negotiated without the knowledge of " 

 " in this arbitration considered "

".

Stéphane Richard denounces " 

", he appealed to the court of cassation.

Orange is an essential operator for the nation.

Any hesitation at its head weakens not only the company, but the country somewhere as well. So it is never good to have these periods of hesitation.

Sébastien Crozier, president of the CFE-CGC union at Orange on the departure of Stéphane Richard

Alexis Bedu

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