Well, that’s that. France’s largest carrier Orange has lost its bid to get its exclusive arrangement with Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to sell the iPhone in France put back in place, after the Paris Appeal Court sided with the French Competition Council’s December ruling. At the time, the competition watchdog noted that Orange’s deal could inflict “serious and immediate damage” to the country’s mobile market, especially as the arrangement ran for the “excessive length” of five years. Orange’s parent, France Telecom, which had called the first decision a “serious blow,” told Reuters that it was “surprised” that its appeal was scuttled, and that it planned to launch yet another appeal, this time with the country’s highest court, the the Cour de Cassation.

Analysts are divided over what this means for France Telecom (NYSE: FTE). On the one hand, the telecoms group stands to lose up to 200 million euros ($260.7 million) worth of sales in 2009 if the suspension remains in place. But those revenue losses would be “largely offset” by the “significant” savings in handset subsidies and other promotional costs.

More after the jump...

The iPhone has been good to Orange. At the time of the December ruling, France Telecom could barely contain its anger at the decision. It accused the watchdog of not making an “in-depth examination,” and said that the ruling would not only hurt Orange’s efforts to bring high speed mobile services to France, but would have a “major impact” on the market, with possible “serious consequences on manufacturers, as well as their subcontractors and software suppliers.” The competition watchdog estimated that Orange had earned 220 million euros ($308.2 million) from iPhone 3G sales from its July 18 launch to November 5. Orange itself said it had sold 450,000 of the gadgets from its July launch to December. It sold another 210,000 phones over the holiday period.

Meanwhile, it’s obvious that Apple is not too broken up about the Orange exclusive deal being banned. The amount coming in from the exclusive revenue share arrangement with Orange will more than likely be offset by the sales of more iPhones. France’s smallest carrier Bouygues Telecom, which made the original complaint against the deal, told Reuters it was already in talks with Apple and would sell the phone soon. Number two carrier SFR said it “welcomed the decision” and would need a distribution contract with Apple to start selling the iPhone.

• France Telecom Exclusive Deal To Sell iPhone In France Banned