The ratings on France Télécom reflect Standard&Poor's expectation that the company will be unable to sufficiently deleverage its balance sheet in the short to medium term to achieve debt-protection ratios consistent with the previous ratings. The adjusted debt-protection targets, compared with earlier expectations, do not reflect any change in France Télécom's management commitment toward debt reduction. The negative market sentiment toward all telecommunications operators, however, contributed to France Télécom raising significantly lower proceeds from the listing of Orange than was expected by Standard&Poor's. In addition, difficult market conditions continue to negatively affect the likely level of proceeds received from France Télécom's asset disposal program and share placements. This has led Standard&Poor's to conclude that
