PARIS (Reuters) – French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has obtained the backing of 500 elected officials required to be a candidate in the April-May presidential election, she told Reuters on Tuesday, clearing a hurdle days before Friday’s filing deadline.

“I have my 500 signatures and therefore I will be a candidate in the presidential election,” Le Pen said.

PARIS, March 8 (Reuters) – French media-to-aerospace
conglomerate Lagardere aims to keep its core operating
profit stable this year after posting a steep net loss in 2011
triggered by write-downs at its fledgling sports unit and French
pay-TV units.

The group posted a net loss of 707 million euros ($938.40
million) last year, dragged down by write-downs of 895 million
euros, two-thirds of which came from its struggling sports
rights and marketing business.

PARIS, March 8 (Reuters) – French telecoms group Iliad
said low-cost Free Mobile offers launched in January
had been an immense success and it will accelerate the rollout
of its mobile network.

Iliad’s new services forced larger rivals Bouygues Telecom
, France Telecom and Vivendi to cut
prices and lavish attention on customers to prevent mass
defections.

PARIS (Reuters) – JCDecaux SA (JCDX.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s top outdoor advertising group, is resuming dividends after a three-year break, signaling optimism about economic recovery and that a long-mooted bid for rival CBS Outdoor is not on the cards in the short term.

The group said it would pay out 0.44 euros a share for 2011, having last year decided against paying a dividend even after posting strong profits and cash generation because it wanted to keep financial flexibility for acquisitions in the United States or Russia.

PARIS, March 8 (Reuters) – Outdoor advertising
specialist JCDecaux said it would resume dividend
payments with a payout of 0.44 euros a share for 2011 after
three years in which they were suspended to cope with the global
downturn.

The move is also a sign of how the world’s biggest outdoor
ad group sees big acquisitions such as a long-mooted move to
take over U.S. rival CBS Outdoor as unlikely in the
short-term.

PARIS, March 6 (Reuters) – Debt-laden French
directories group Pages Jaunes (PAJ.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) expects to return to
growth in the next two years by focusing on expanding its
internet business as demand for its printed products declines,
its chief executive told Reuters.

The company plans to generate three-quarters of revenue from
its digital business by 2013 or 2014, guaranteeing growth,
Jean-Pierre Remy said in an interview on Tuesday.

PARIS, March 6 (Reuters) – Debt-laden French
directories group Pages Jaunes (PAJ.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) expects to return to
growth in the next two years by focusing on expanding its
internet business as demand for its printed products declines,
its chief executive told Reuters.

The company plans to generate three-quarters of revenue from
its digital business by 2013 or 2014, guaranteeing growth,
Jean-Pierre Remy said in an interview on Tuesday.

PARIS, Feb 29 (Reuters) – The telecom unit of French
conglomerate Bouygues seeks to cut costs by 300
million ($402.71 million) this year to offset shrinking sales as
the arrival of a new low-cost rival is luring away customers.

France has been locked in a mobile price war since
mid-January, when Iliad’s Free Mobile service launched
low-priced mobile offers and prompted rivals to cut prices on
some of their offers to compete with the new market entrant.

BARCELONA/PARIS, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Private equity
firms stand to benefit from the misfortunes of Europe’s major
telecom operators as they snap up mobile assets being sold off
by incumbents who need to pay down debt and focus on their core
markets.

After years in which they focused more on buyouts of cable
firms, private equity funds like Apax, Carlyle and Providence
are among those now on the prowl for telecom deals.

PARIS (Reuters) – France Telecom (FTE.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sees a “calm” year on the acquisition front and does not expect further big disposals after recently selling its Swiss and Austrian units, Chief Executive Stephane Richard told Reuters in an interview.

“The economic and competitive environment does not lend itself to major transactions,” Richard said on Wednesday. “We won’t rule out looking at opportunities that present themselves, but it will probably be a calm year.”