Fourtou, who is deputy chairman of Aventis, was widely tipped to take the post and is seen by commentators as a safe pair of hands for the troubled Franco-American media and utilities conglomerate.
He will face immediate troubles relating to Vivendi's sliding share price, questions over its accounting practices, a debt burden of €19bn (£12bn), and the threat of the company being broken up.
He has reportedly given himself a three-month deadline to deal with these issues.
Messier has to make do with a pay-off in the region of £7.8m and is also hoping to keep the use of a lavish Manhattan apartment paid for by the company. Before resigning at the beginning of the week, he had secured a promise from Vivendi's board that his successor would be French.
Shares in Vivendi opened up by 15.5%, or €2.15 this morning, after being suspended on the Paris Bourse, to trade at €16.05.
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