Shareholders will decide on Mr Messier's pay-off

Mr Messier was ousted a year ago after shareholders became increasingly angry about the company's finances and a $30bn pile of debt.

At the request of France's stock market regulator, the court said the payment should not be made until shareholders at the French media company vote on the matter.

A New York court last month rejected Vivendi's claim that Mr Messier's package should not be paid because it was never approved by the board.

The regulator said the court ruled that the payment should only be delivered after a vote "exposing the circumstances for which the legal procedure of authorisation for this agreement by the board wasn't followed".

Eric Licoys, Vivendi's chief operating officer at the time of Mr Messier's departure, said he signed the contract but it is unclear whether other board members had seen and approved its terms.

Pensions lost

Mr Messier and Vivendi are being sued by shareholders in France and the US who, like many employees of the company, saw their pensions and savings wiped out.

They blame the aggressive acquisition programme of Mr Messier who bought disparate assets worldwide.

The company's shares lost more than 80% of their value as the empire ran the company into billions of dollars of debt and left it close to bankruptcy.

Since Mr Messier's departure, Jean-Rene Fourtou, who replaced him, has put many of Vivendi's assets up for sale to reduce its debt burden.