Le Monde | • Updated | By
Under the fire of criticism in Israel, Stéphane Richard, CEO of Orange, decided to explain, Thursday, June 4, on a little phrase he delivered the day before and that has put the country in turmoil. While in Cairo, Mr. Richard had said that if he could, he would decide soon “tomorrow” the withdrawal of Orange Israel.
The head of the French operator wished to recall that his group is not itself directly present in Israel and therefore that the question of staying or leaving is not an issue. The question really – and this is what his words were aimed, says Mr. Richard – is the withdrawal of the Orange brand used by the company Partner
Orange stipulates. Indeed Israel a license agreement with the operator, which in this setting, uses the trademark in exchange for a fee. However, this agreement dates from 1998, that is to say where that mark was still owned by the Chinese group Hutchison, two years before its acquisition by France Telecom.
“The Orange group n is not shareholder of Partner and thus has no influence on the strategy or the operational development of it “, also explained the direction of the operator in a statement on Thursday.
Read also: Orange evokes the Israeli withdrawal, which demands an apology
“This is a company that uses the name of Orange but that has nothing to do with the group and that is not controlled by us “, Richard has indicated to the World , recalling that no other operator in the world only has the use of the Orange brand. And that it is immediately removed when disposals of subsidiaries to another operator.
“It is not in the group’s policy that an operator over which we have no control uses our brand, “, he said. But in the case of Partner, the usage agreement runs for brand until 2025. Hence, says Mr. Richard, his remarks on the fact that if he could, he would decide soon “tomorrow” a withdrawal. So the brand.
“This has nothing to do with the political context,” forward Richard, when he is accused of trying to answer with the words, the growing pressure on his company, as part of the boycott and calls for sanctions against the country, due to the continued occupation in the West Bank.
In a report published a few weeks ago, entitled “The Orange dangerous liaisons in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” , several organizations, including the International Federation for Human Rights ( FIDH), the CGT and the Catholic Committee against Hunger and for Development (CCFD), called on the French government shareholder to bend the operator.
The report reminded that the relationship between Orange and Business Partner based on “ a brand licensing agreement signed in 1998, renewed in 2011 and amended in 2015″ , enabling Partner to use the image of Orange. In this way, Orange accomplice would go indirectly to the Israeli occupation in the West Bank.
“The Israeli telecommunications company Partner carries out economic activities and making profits in Israeli settlements, noted the report. She built and has one hundred antennas on private Palestinian land confiscated, offers its services to the settlers and the Israeli army, and takes advantage of restrictions on the Palestinian economy . “
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