PARIS — The chief executive of France Télécom was expected to receive the backing of the company’s board on Monday, despite his alleged role in a cloudy financial affair, after President François Hollande said the French government supported keeping him in his post.
The board was meeting Monday to discuss the fate of the chief executive, Stéphane Richard, after he was placed under formal investigation last week in connection with suspected fraud involving a 2008 arbitration case.
“I have two interests to protect,” that of the company and that of the state, Mr. Hollande said Sunday in an interview with M6 television. As long as the investigation does not stop Mr. Richard from performing his functions at the company, Mr. Hollande said, he should remain.
“If the judicial procedure takes a turn such that he can no longer lead the enterprise, at that moment another decision will be taken,” Mr. Hollande added.
With its 27 percent stake in France Télécom, the state appoints three of the 15 directors on the board, and its vote tends to be decisive. Tom Wright, a France Télécom spokesman, declined to comment.
The company, which is changing its name to Orange, the brand of its mobile service, employs about 170,000 people worldwide. Mr. Richard has been chief executive since February 2010 and is credited with helping to restore stability after a major restructuring led by his predecessor caused morale to plunge. Company unions last week called for Mr. Richard to stay on despite the investigation.
Mr. Richard denies any wrongdoing, and a formal investigation does not necessarily lead to charges or trial.
In 2008, he was as a top aide to Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister at the time, when a businessman named Bernard Tapie was awarded 403 million euros, or about $538 million, by an arbitration panel to settle a commercial dispute with Crédit Lyonnais, a state-owned bank. Mr. Tapie had been a lifelong Socialist, but he changed parties to support the 2007 election bid of former President Nicolas Sarkozy. Investigators are seeking to find out if Mr. Tapie might have received special treatment, and the state has begun working to overturn the award.
Ms. Lagarde, currently head of the International Monetary Fund, is also being investigated in the case as an assisted witness, a less serious status than formal investigation. She also denies any wrongdoing.
Investors appeared to support Mr. Richard’s expected retention, with shares of France Télécom rising 3.9 percent in afternoon trading in Paris.
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