Le Figaro reported that Chirac had telephoned Breton to offer him the job and that Breton had promised to consider the offer. Neither France Telecom nor Chirac’s office would confirm the story, but 49 year-old Breton has frequently been mentioned as a candidate for the post.
Breton has a reputation for turning around failing organizations after he rescued TV maker Thomson Multimedia SA. When he took over as France Telecom chairman in 2002, it had debts of 69.7bn euro ($68.3bn) and had the government not owned more than half its shares, it would have found it difficult to avoid bankruptcy. Not only has he made substantial inroads into the debt, but he has bought out minority interests in its mobile arm Orange SA and ISP Wanadoo, leaving it in a far stronger position.
