Jean-Marie Messier, the beleaguered head of Vivendi Universal, probably regrets writing his modest little book two years ago on how he was single-handedly transforming the face of French capitalism.

Tucked away in the book are Messier's thoughts on the Vodafone/Mannesman takeover and his own deal with Vodafone on the side to create Vizzavi, the internet joint venture that was going to 'conquer Europe... at last a real European version of AOL'.