Radiodiffusion française nationale, renamed Radiodiffusion Nationale (RN), was a public broadcasting company in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

that was in charge of the production, broadcasting and coordination of radio and television programs. It was founded on 29 July 1939 by the decree of then Prime Minister Edouard Daladier. The founding decision was motivated by the upcoming

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with the attempt to establish a

state monopoly In economics, a government monopoly or public monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly in which a government agency or government corporation is the sole provider of a particular good or service and competition is prohibited by law. It is a monopoly ...

on broadcasting, coordinate propaganda and facilitate censorship. The work was interrupted temporarily on the basis of the provisions of the capitulation agreement before Germany on 25 June 1940 but on 5 July it started working in the so-called "Free Zone" of Vichy. In 1943, its headquarters were relocated to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where the radio service under the direction of the Vichy propaganda minister

Philippe Henriot Philippe Henriot (7 January 1889 – 28 June 1944) was a French poet, journalist, politician, and minister in the French government at Vichy, where he directed propaganda broadcasts. He also joined the Milice part-time. Career Philippe Henriot, a ...

received an anti-Semitic and pro-Axis character. In the meantime, on 4 April 1944, the

Provisional Government of the French Republic The Provisional Government of the French Republic (PGFR; french: Gouvernement provisoire de la République française (''GPRF'')) was the provisional government of Free France between 3 June 1944 and 27 October 1946, following the liberation ...

established its own RN in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. It took over installations in Paris during the

liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris (french: Libération de Paris) was a military battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germ ...

on 22 August 1944. As early as 1 October, RN launched its own television channel (''Télévision française'', later '' RDF Télévision française'') the first in liberated Europe. On 23 March 1945 RN was reorganized into

Radiodiffusion Française Radiodiffusion Française (RDF) was a French public institution responsible for public service broadcasting. Created in 1944 as a state monopoly (replacing Radiodiffusion Nationale), RDF worked to rebuild its extensive network, destroyed during t ...

. Among the radio stations managed by RN were Radio Tour Eiffel (1921-1940), Radio PTT (1923-1940),

Radio-Paris Radio Paris was a French radio broadcasting company best known for its Axis propaganda broadcasts in Vichy France during World War II. Radio Paris evolved from the first private radio station in France, called Radiola (radio station), Radiola, fou ...

(1924-1944) and Le Poste colonial (1931-1938, broadcast to the

French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...

). In regards to television, RN managed Radiodiffusion nationale Télévision.

References

{{Authority control Radio in France Television networks in France Public broadcasting in France