Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster.
Stations
Radio France offers seven national networks:
*
France Inter
France Inter () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France.
It is the successor to Paris Inter, later known as France I, and created as a merger of the France I and France II networks, first as RTF Inter in October 1963, then ren ...
— Radio France's "
generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety of music, plus hourly news bulletins with extended news coverage in the morning, midday, and early-evening peaks
*
France Info — 24-hour news
*
France Culture
France Culture () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France
Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster.
Stations
Radio France offers seven national networks:
*France Inter — Radio France's "generalist ...
— cultural programming covering the arts, history, science, philosophy, etc. together with in-depth news coverage at peak times
*
France Musique
France Musique () is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on classical music and jazz.
History
The channel was lau ...
—
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
*
Ici — a network of 44 regional stations, mixing popular music with locally based talk and information, including:
**
Ici Paris Île-de-France — for the Paris-
ÃŽle-de-France
The ÃŽle-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...
region
**
Ici Béarn Bigorre —
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...
**
Ici Nord —
Nord and
Pas de Calais
The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait, historically known as the Dover Narrows, is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, and separating Great Britain from continental ...
*
FIP — specialising in a wide range of music – classical,
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
, jazz,
chanson
A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...
, rock,
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
,
world music
"World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...
– and minimal speech
*
Mouv'
''Mouv '' () (formerly ''Le Mouv'') is a French youth-oriented radio station which began broadcasting on 17 June 1997. As part of Radio France, it is a public radio station. The station primarily plays youth-oriented music, centered on urban mu ...
— urban music, aimed at a young audience
Mission
Radio France's two principal missions are:
* To create and expand the programming on all of their stations; and
* To assure the development and the management of the following four orchestras and choirs:
** l'
Orchestre National de France
The Orchestre National de France (; ; abbr. ONF) is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since 1975), the ONF performs mainly in the Grand ...
(National Orchestra of France)
** l'
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra)
** Le Chœur de Radio France (Choir of Radio France)
**
La Maîtrise de Radio France (Choir School of Radio France with a choir of children and teenagers)
History

* 1897: A year after Marconi's experiments, Eugène Ducretet begins his trials of radio broadcasting from a mast on the third level of the
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889.
Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...
* 1921: The weather forecast and the stock market prices are read from a studio in the Eiffel Tower.
* 6 November 1922 (eight days before the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
): Radiola, the first French private radio transmitter, begins regular broadcasts. It changes its name to Radio Paris in 1924. It is followed by Radio Toulouse and Radio Lyon, and in 1932/1933 by Radio Luxembourg. Before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, 14 commercial and 12 public sector radios operate in France.
* 1940–44: In both the German-Occupied zone and under the Vichy regime in the south, radio is taken over by the State.
* 1942–43: With the agreement of Vichy, Radio Monte Carlo and its financial holding company la SOFIRAD are born.
* 1944: At the
Liberation of France, the state broadcasting monopoly is retained for practical and ideological reasons. Public service radio broadcasting is ensured by the RDF, soon to be called the
RTF, then the
ORTF in 1964.
* 1955: The commercial station
Europe No. 1 begins broadcasting from across the border in the
Saarland
Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...
region of Germany, freed from French occupation in that year.
* 1965: Under the management of Roland Dhordain, the four French radio stations are reorganised: France I and II are merged to "RTF Inter", later renamed "France Inter"; France III is renamed "RTF Promotion", and later "France Culture"; France IV is renamed "RTF Haute Fidelité", and later "France Musique".
* 1975: When the ORTF is broken up into separate TV channels (
TF1
TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network.
TF1 is part ...
(Télévision française 1),
Antenne 2,
France Région 3), technical services (
TDF — Télédiffusion de France), archive services and professional training (
INA — Institut National de l'Audiovisuel), production and audiovisual creation services (
SFP — Société Française de Production) and radio, Radio France gains its independence from other media institutions as the state-controlled public service radio broadcaster.
* 1981: Following pressure from the independent and commercial radio lobbies and pirate broadcasters, the newly elected President
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...
allows the licensing of "free" radio stations, to become "radios locales privées", initially with a state subsidy and then financed by commercial advertising (1984), and finally to group themselves into national networks (1986). A private radio sector broadcasting from within French borders is reborn.
* 1999: The daily radio audience (
reach) is 83%. They listen on average for over three hours a day. 99% of French homes have a radio. 80% of French households have a car radio, and 26.8% a
personal stereo.
* 2000: Radio France re-organises its radio network. France Bleu becomes a regional-only network, primarily on FM (the national AM radio network was re-attributed to France Info) and several FIP stations in large cities were closed down and replaced with youth station Le Mouv'.
* 2015: Radio France announced the end of its Medium Wave (AM) broadcasts at the end of 31 December.
Headquarters
Radio France has its headquarters at the
Maison de la Radio et de la Musique, a circular building designed by the architect
Henry Bernard (architect)
and inaugurated in December 1963 by President
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
, which stands beside the
River Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...
in the
16th arrondissement of Paris
The 16th arrondissement of Paris (; ) is the westernmost of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. Located on the city's Right Bank, it is adjacent to the 17th and 8th arrondissements to the northeast, as well as to the ...
. In addition to housing Radio France's central services and the studios of several of its channels, the building is home to the
Musée de Radio France, a museum of radio and television broadcasting and recording techniques. The building caught fire in October 2014.
Equipment
The head office has around a hundred studios (for radio broadcasts, fictions, concerts etc.) and an auditorium:
* Auditorium of Radio France: built on the site of the former studios 102 and 103;
* Studio 104 (856 sits) ;
* Studio 105 (237 sits) and studio 106 (137 sits) dedicated to public broadcasts and concerts of musical broadcasts;
* Studios 611 and 621 dedicated to the
France Inter
France Inter () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France.
It is the successor to Paris Inter, later known as France I, and created as a merger of the France I and France II networks, first as RTF Inter in October 1963, then ren ...
channel (just like studios 511 and 521);
* Studio 221 is the "telegenic" studio, where programs such as "Les Informés", "8.30 Franceinfo", or "Questions Politiques" are broadcast on the television channel
France Info.
Budget
The Radio France group is 100% owned by the French State. Nearly 80% of Radio France's funding comes from
Television licence
A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts or the possession of a television set. In some countries, a licence is also required to own a radio or rece ...
, the remaining 20% comes from own resources, mainly from advertising and diversification activities developed by Radio France.
Organization
General
In September 2019, a bill emanating from the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to:
* Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)
* Ministry of Culture (Algeria)
* Ministry of Culture (Argentina)
* Minister for the Arts (Australia)
* Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...
announces the creation of "France Médias", a parent company which will bring together
France Télévisions
France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...
, Radio France,
France Médias Monde and the
INA.
[.] This bill also provides for the end of the appointments of directors of Radio France by the
CSA, a power which will be attributed to the board of directors of the radiophonic entity, which will continue to operate independently, but also in synergy with the other entities of France Médias.
Presidents and CEOs
Mathieu Gallet, former President and CEO of the Institut national de l'audiovisuel, National Audiovisual Institute (INA) from 2010 to 2014, was unanimously appointed by the members of the Higher Audiovisual Council (CSA)
Communication
Beyond its primary profession which is to make radio, Radio France works on many political, social or cultural projects. The group deploys resources to support various causes, is committed on several fronts, and makes it known through communication actions. Thus, in 2018 Radio France indicates that:
* The new 2018-2020 company agreement "supports Radio France's proactive policy in favor of equal opportunities";
* A new three-year company agreement to promote professional and salary equality between men and women was signed on 1 July 2018.
* Since 2016, "project partnerships" have been carried out for the cultural development of French-speaking countries (
Benin
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...
,
Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
,
Gabon
Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...
).
* The audiovisual group and the France-China Committee join forces to promote economic and cultural exchanges between France and China around music
* He signs the creation of an artistic exchange program based on a circle of patrons in China
* It supports the European Week for the Employment of People with Disabilities, by providing activities at the
Maison de la Radio
Maison (French for "house") may refer to:
People
* Edna Maison (1892–1946), American silent-film actress
* Jérémy Maison (born 1993), French cyclist
* Leonard Maison, New York state senator 1834–1837
* Nicolas Joseph Maison (1771–1840), M ...
Ethics committee
In application of the law of 14 November 2016 and its implementing decree of 21 March 2017, an ethics committee is created to strengthen freedom, the independence and pluralism of the media.
��This committee is made up of five independent individuals appointed for three years, and whose mandate is renewable.
Group activities
Information and investigation
The investigation unit of Radio France, the usual name of the investigation and investigation department of Radio France, is divided into three poles: production, digital, and investigation. This last pole includes five investigators.
The investigation unit has been a partner of ''Disclose'' since 2018.
Regular and event-based partnerships
When the news so requires, Radio France stations resort to event programming, which is no longer subject to the program schedules. These events, whether political, economic, societal, cultural or sporting, can be found in the pages retracing the annual chronologies of the radio media.
Diffusion
Hertzian broadcasting
Since 1975, Radio France has been broadcasting in
FM on almost the entire territory.
Radio France broadcast between 1975 and 2016 in
AM:
France Inter
France Inter () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France.
It is the successor to Paris Inter, later known as France I, and created as a merger of the France I and France II networks, first as RTF Inter in October 1963, then ren ...
GO (1939–2016); France Inter
PO (1956–1996); France Inter
OC (1975–1981),
France Culture
France Culture () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France
Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster.
Stations
Radio France offers seven national networks:
*France Inter — Radio France's "generalist ...
PO (1975–1980);
Radio Bleu PO (1980–2000);
France Info PO (2000–2016).
In 2016, Radio France's programs were broadcast in
RNT (
DAB +) over the Paris region via an experiment. In 2019, the CSA allocates to all the national frequencies of Radio France, via a call for tenders procedure, broadcast in DAB +. This technology mainly aims to allow better sound quality, the addition of data synchronized or not with the radio (scrolling texts, images, information, websites, etc.) and a lower broadcasting cost than that of FM.
Digital broadcasting
Since 2006, Radio France has produced its programs entirely in digital and since 2012 has offered numerous programs in
podcast
A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
in
MP3
MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...
format.
Podcast Radio France
- Site officiel From 2014, faced with the boom in the consumption of videos on the Internet, and the development of the use of tablets or smartphones, Radio France introduced the concept of "enriched radio" which consists of filming the studio during the recording some radio broadcasts. The video is then put online live (in '' streaming '') on the station's website or inserted into a video catalog so that it can be viewed after the broadcast on air.
See also
* Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the State media, state-owned international radio news network of France. With 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world ...
* Public Francophone Radios
References
Information
from Geoff Hare, Newcastle University
External links
*
Radio France podcasts 2010-01-30
* https://www.radiofrance.fr/data/streams XMLHttpRequest Live Streams
{{Authority control
Publicly funded broadcasters
Radio in France
16th arrondissement of Paris
European Broadcasting Union members
Radio stations established in 1922