UPDATE: French newspaper Le Figaro, which corroborates MacScoop's report says Orange did neither confirm or deny the rumours.

Sources provided MacScoop with information regarding the ongoing negotiations between Apple and Orange aiming at a deal for the French telecom operator to carry the iPhone. The little information we obtained so far indicates that Orange is not far from a deal with the maker of the most hyped gadget of all times. In fact, some insiders have suggested that a deal may already be signed.

The word among employees inside Orange is that the company has been doing everything it could to close a deal for the iPhone in the French market. Sales teams who are in charge of the consumer market are even said to have already started preparing for the launch since last month, just in case, while the marketing division already has a advertising plan in the works.

Orange made its first offer to Apple during late May or early June according to our sources. It included the purchase of at least 50,000 units for stock so as to ensure availability for a November launch and sharing an undisclosed part of its customers' subscriptions revenue with Apple. The initial purchase quantity was subject to re-adjustment, depending on how successful would be the U.S. launch of the iPhone.

Though Orange has a strong retail presence in France, the French retailer, Fnac, could compensate for Apple's lack of retail presence in the country. The store within-a-store model has already started being put in place under the "Apple Shop" brand in some Paris-based Fnac store locations.

Orange is a subsidiary of France Telecom, the historic national telco of France which acquired the Orange assets and brand and merged it with its mobile division in the late nineties. More recently, France Telecom has put the focus on a unique branding under the Orange brand.

The company is the biggest player in terms of market share in France and holds a great piece of the U.K. market as well as other European countries. Orange also holds a strong position in professional mobile solutions through its Orange Business Everywhere program which includes voice, Wifi, EDGE and 3G services.

Apple has not yet made any official statement regarding the operators that will carry the iPhone in Europe but said it would make such announcements during the quarter. The European launch is officially planned by the end of this year for a few countries in Europe such as the United Kingdom, Germany and France.