Shareholders in the country's partly state-owned, former telecommunications monopoly approved nearly unanimously a resolution on Tuesday to rename their company Orange, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The name, already in use for the vast majority of France Télécom's commercial units at home and overseas, will become its official corporate name as of July 1.
The move reflects in part the company's effort to redefine itself as a global player, and present itself as more than a phone company in the digital era. But the half-dozen years it has taken the historical operator to delete two sensitive words—France and Télécom—from its official name also highlight how carefully the company moves when dealing with its French heritage, its French employees and its 27% owner, the French state.
"This name reflects the values of a French company, proud of its roots, its achievements, its history, which is now immersed in global competition," Stéphane Richard, France Télécom's chief executive, told shareholders at the meeting.
He added that the new name "will let us simplify and modernize our presentation and perception by all stakeholders."
Read more of this report from The Wall Street Journal.