Stephane Richard, CEO of Orange, wants the company to continue to have a leading role in building pan-European networks through acquisition, and is keen to expand in Africa and the Middle East, he said in an interview with Financial Times.

“I don’t know when or what, but I am in favour of an ambitious Orange in Europe. We are looking, we are paying attention to everything going on,” he said, adding that “in my view, we have a clear opportunity.”

He believes smaller incumbents like KPN, Telecom Italia and Belgacom could be vulnerable if a single digital market is created in Europe.

As for other regions, Orange has spun off its African business into a separate corporate vehicle to create a simple structure that is more visible, and can be floated or used to attract minority shareholders.

Meanwhile in Israel, the CEO is dealing with repercussions of remarks made regarding exiting the country for fear of economic and diplomatic isolation from the western world given Israel’s deadlock in peace talks with Palestine.

Richard said his comments were “misreported and misinterpreted”, adding that it only lost four of 27 million French customers following the controversy.

The CEO is also open to selling telecoms mast infrastructure in countries outside France as European tower companies have recently been on the lookout for deals.

However, he does not want to sell Orange’s four per cent stake in BT – which it received as part of the £6 billion price for its half share in EE and in which Deutsche Telekom may be interested – as he believes it is important for its long-term strategy in Europe.

Regarding industry consolidation in Orange’s home market, Richard said the government needs to keep its involvement to a minimum, even as number two operator Numericable-SFR looks to buy Bouygues Telecom, which is currently in third place.

Such decisions should be left to the French antitrust authority, he said, adding that “the government has really no tools in its hands to prevent this”.

“The industry is made up of private companies and, in fact, what we have to take into account is antitrust [and] the legal process. Political wishes or statements are not really something which is so important,” he said.

The government has a 25 per cent stake in Orange, which Richard said admittedly makes running the company “a little more complicated.”