SFR sale may affect millions more in France

The phone and internet provider, SFR, could soon be put up for sale, after a court approved a debt-restructuring plan for its parent company Altice France. 

Paris’ commercial court approved the plan on Monday, August 4. 

It did not agree to a request from the public prosecutor to exclude SFR from any restructuring, which could pave the way for its sale to help cut Altice’s €24 billion debt. 

SFR, the second-biggest telecoms company in the country after Orange, has around 25 million customers in France, spread across its broadband internet, mobile (around 19 million clients) and TV subscription services. It has 300 shops and 8,000 employees.

Its fibre optic network reaches more than 40 million homes across France, while its 4G reaches 99.9% of the population, and its 5G, around 75%. 

It serves private and business clients across France and has a low-cost internet and mobile service, RED by SFR. 

Who could buy SFR?

Bouygues Telecom, which has shared its mobile network with SFR since 2014, is reported in Le Figaro to be a front-runner to buy the operator. 

But if one French telecom company bought SFR, it would create a near-monopoly. 

One alternative would be to divide the company between the three main telecom companies in France – Orange, Free and Bouygues Telecom. 

The trio have expressed interest in buying SFR and sharing its clients between them. 

A potentially more simple solution than splitting SFR three ways would be to sell to one company not currently operating in France. 

Several Middle Eastern groups, such as the Saudi Telecom Company, have been cited as possible future buyers. 

In early August, Altice said no offers had been made so far. 

SFR has been struggling with losing customers for the past few years. 

It has blamed the rise of low-cost offers such as Sosh and B&You from rivals Orange and Bouygues Telecom. 

How would a sale affect current customers?

A possible sale of SRF could affect current customers in several ways. 

Their contracts could be transferred to a new operator, which could lead to changes in their package, customer service and pricing - but any changes would need to be communicated to the customer.

In a statement after the Paris commercial court decision, Altice said: “Importantly, this is a purely financial restructuring. It has no impact on the company’s operational, commercial, or social activities. 

"Business continues as usual, with all jobs, customer relationships, and partnerships fully preserved.” 

This suggests there will be no immediate changes. 

As of early August, SFR had not sent out any communication to customers, Marie-Amandine Stevenin, president of consumer organisation UFC Que Choisir, told La Depeche. 

Customers are legally allowed to cancel their contract free of charge at any stage if there is a significant change in the contract, such as a price increase or a change in the services provided. 

“But be careful: if (a customer) accepts the new offer, this right disappears," Ms Stevenin said. 

Customers should remain vigilant, checking emails, text messages and their SFR customer account for any notifications of changes to their offer in the event of a sale. 

The court ruling is the latest in a series of bad news for SFR, which has lost nearly one million customers since summer 2023. 

Its network faced a widespread outage on June 16, with customers across France losing access to texts, calls and internet. 

It has increasingly been rated poorly by customers, coming last out of the four main telecom providers in the 2025 customer satisfaction survey by telecommunications regulator Arcep. 

It scored 7.5/10 compared to 8.1 for Free, 8 for Orange and 7.8 for Bouygues Telecom.