Vivendi emerged from Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE), a company founded in the mid-19th century. Created by Imperial decree on December 14, 1853, CGE originally supplied water to Lyons, Nantes and Paris, then subsequently Venice (1880), Constantinople (1882) and Porto (1883). The company later on diversified into numerous businesses such as waste management, environmental services, energy, transport, construction, property and communications. Notably, in 1983 in partnership with Havas, it set up Canal+ that was launched a year later. Then came SFR in 1987 and Cegetel in 1996.