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French Watchdog Raids Orange Headquarters

By  |  April 12, 2022

Orange’s headquarters were raided on March 10 by the French antitrust watchdog, business magazine Capital reported on Tuesday, notably over suspicions of an abuse of its dominant position in the fibre optic broadband market.

The raid also targeted three other corporate sites of the state-controlled telecoms group, which has a 40% share of the country’s fibre broadband sector, Capital reported.

The searches, conducted in March at four Orange premises including its headquarters near Paris, encompassed Orange activities on all its networks, including fiber and copper. A significant amount of company documents were taken, according to a person familiar with the matter.

A spokesperson for Orange confirmed to Reuters that a raid took place, without elaborating on either the timing or extent.

The group has launched legal procedures to contest seizures by the French competition authority, the spokesperson added.