Paris court rejects SFR employee union's request to suspend sale

The Paris Judicial Court has dismissed a summary proceeding (référé) brought by the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) of SFR. The union had sought to suspend the information-consultation process regarding the planned sale of the operator to a consortium consisting of Bouygues Telecom, Iliad (Free), and Orange.

The consortium signed an agreement in early June with Altice France, SFR's parent company, to acquire the operator for 20.35 billion euros. The CSE requested the suspension of the consultation phase until further financial documents were provided. However, the court ruled that the consultation procedure had already concluded in early October, noting that only a separate proceeding on the merits, scheduled for an audience in early December, could potentially extend the process.

Abdelkader Choukrane, a CSE official, criticized the decision, stating that employees remain in the dark regarding a project that will “extinguish their company.” The union has indicated it will analyze the ruling to prepare an appeal. Altice France has not commented on the decision.