Apple’s (NSDQ: AAPL) negotiations with Orange in France are not going well, with a source at Orange saying there is a risk that Apple will decide simply not to sell the iPhone in France. The issue has been known for a couple of weeks now: French law prohibits linking handsets with contracts, and telcos must unlock a phone at the request of a customer. Apple obviously doesn’t like this, and is seeking a greater service revenue split with Orange to compensate, but if Orange isn’t getting an exclusive on the iPhone why pay for the privilege? Les Echos (french) now reports the deal is in jeopardy—this from the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) translation: “The risk which one evaluates this week, it is that Apple makes a cross on France, releases a source at Orange. We have a plan B. There is still a chance that we have the iPhone, but we are very close to the limit where the company is endangered.” The article claims that if the iPhone doesn’t hit the stores Apple will lose up to 100,000 iPhone sales by the end of the year, and for France “the festivals of end of the year are likely to be less merry”. (via Engadget)