By Leila Abboud

MONTPELLIER, France, Nov 19 (Reuters) - France Telecom's chief executive, Didier Lombard, will unveil a plan to reshape the group next month following a national controversy over a series of worker suicides at the company that has shaken Europe's third-biggest telecom operator.
Lombard told the IDATE conference in Montpellier he wanted a "new beginning" at the company focusing on big projects, such as bringing high-speed broadband to all of France and developing new services.
Lombard said he would move ahead after French President Nicolas Sarkozy announces his plan to boost the digital economy in several weeks time.
The plan would follow other steps taken to address the worker suicide crisis, including a part-time work scheme for older workers that could lead to a provision of up to 1 billion euros.
Twenty-five workes have killed themselves at France Telecom since 2008, a rate which unions have blamed on restructuring and poor working conditions although it is broadly in line with the French national norm.

Separately, at the Montpellier conference, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, junior minister for the digital economy, detailed government plans to inject 4 billion euros into high-technology projects within France's national loan programme.
She said the plan would plough 2 billion euros into high-speed broadband, including fibre build-outs in smaller cities and rural areas, as well as satellites.
The other 2 billion will go to develop digital services like telemedicine, culture and content, she said.
Despite the boost soon to come from the government subsidies, Lombard stopped short of saying that France Telecom would restart its investments in fibre broadband networks. The company froze its fibre investments this summer, citing concerns over the regulations and uncertain costs.
In June, French telecom regulator ARCEP chose an approach that would require all operators to lay down fibre for their rivals as a way to ensure competition in the new market. Known as "multi-fibre", this was opposed by France Telecom and championed by competitor Iliad.
Since then France Telecom has held off from investing in fibre, preferring to wait pending further negotiations over the rules. Iliad and SFR have also slowed investments to a near standstill as the regulatory debate goes on.
However, much progress has been made, Lombard said.
"We've never been so close to the goal," he said. "We are moving towards a stabilisation of the regulatory framework and things should start moving in 2010. Once the regulations are clear, it will allow telecom operators to invest."
(Reporting by Leila Abboud and Marie Mawad) Keywords: FRANCETELECOM/

(leila.abboud@thomsonreuters.com; + 33 1 49 49 51 82; Reuters Messaging: leila.abboud.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)

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