French finance ministry says acknowledges Orange CEO verdict

The French finance ministry said on Wednesday it was acknowledging the conviction of Stephane Richard, CEO of France's biggest telecoms company Orange , for complicity of misuse of public funds by a Paris appeals court.

The French finance ministry said on Wednesday it was acknowledging the conviction of Stephane Richard, CEO of France's biggest telecoms company Orange, for the complicity of misuse of public funds by a Paris appeals court. It also said the Orange board would meet at the end of Wednesday.

The French state is Orange's main shareholder. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has repeatedly said that the government position is that bosses of state-controlled companies should quit if convicted of a crime and Richard's sentence could spell the end of his career at Orange.