French site iGeneration claims that figure comes from one of the country's largest telecommunications companies, with rivals carriers also claiming consumer interest in iPhone 5C has been unexpectedly slow.
The article, which is written in French, brands the news as "worrying", but adds that the country's leading operators believe interest in the iPhone 5S will be much stronger come launch.
C is for challenging
The apparent slow start for iPhone 5C will no doubt worry Apple, however, which abandoned its usual routine of discounting existing models in favour of launching an entirely fresh 'budget' device.
Commentators believe iPhone 5C is primarily aimed at the Chinese market, though early reports suggest the device which is around $100 cheaper than the iPhone 5S is still too expensive for many consumers.
Apple's decision not to publish iPhone 5C pre-order figures has also set alarm bells ringing, breaking with the tradition of the last four years, when Apple routinely pushed out day one pre-order totals for each new iPhone.
The iPhone amassed 2 million pre-orders in its first 24 hours.
[source: iGeneration]
