PARIS -(Dow Jones)- France Telecom's (FTE.FR) mobile unit Orange and U.S.-based Apple Inc. (AAPL) have dropped their exclusivity deals over the distribution of Apple's iPhone handsets in France, the French competition authority said Tuesday. The announcement was made by the companies to the French competition regulator and comes several months after the regulator temporarily ruled against the exclusivity deal, in December 2008, as Orange's domestic competitors Vivendi's (VIV.FR) mobile unit SFR and Bouygues' (EN.FR) Bouygues Telecom called the deal into question. Orange had struck a deal with Apple to be the sole iPhones distributor in France. -By Geraldine Amiel, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 40171740; geraldine.amiel@dowjones.com;
