Radio transmission in Paris began in 1921, and today there are many AM and FM radio stations available to listeners in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and the
ĂŽle-de-France
The ĂŽle-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.
History
The first radio broadcast in Paris aimed at the general public took place on 22 December 1921. The next year, the French government allowed the establishment of the first private radio station in Paris: Radiola.
After the
Second World War
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 ...
, Parisian radio was nationalized, and it was not until 1981, following the election of
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 ...
that private companies were able easily to broadcast in the Paris area. Mitterrand was attempting to permit the growth of radio stations through privatization and fewer regulations, following the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
example (in 1977, the Italian government permitted the establishment of private stations, leading to a boom in the number of stations). In the early 1980s, there were more than 200 radio stations in Paris. These stations often overlapped, broadcast only sporadically and often low-quality content. This chaotic situation came to an end after the establishment of several regulatory agencies — first the ''
* Radio Tour Eiffel (general interest; state radio) 24 December 1921-June 1940. At the start, it broadcast only for a half-hour a day: a weather forecast, a review of the press and music. The first news broadcast took place on it 3 November 1925.
* Radiola (general interest; private) 6 November 1922 to 28 March 1924. Radiola's first trials took place on 26 June 1922 and its first regular broadcasts began on 6 November 1922. Marcel Laporte provided the most-frequently-heard voice for the station. Its first news broadcasts took place on 6 January 1923. It became
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, founded by pioneering Fren ...
Radio Vitus
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...
(general interest; private) from 1 December 1926 until 14 January 1934. It became Poste de l’Ile de France (general interest; private) from 15 January 1934 until June 1940
*
Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg).
The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
(general interest, private) from 15 March 1933 until 21 September 1939, and was resurrected from 1945 to 1966, before becoming
RTL
RTL may refer to:
Media
* RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company
*** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels)
*** List of RTL Group's radio stations
** RTL LĂ«tzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...
(general interest) since 1966
*
Radio 37
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...
(general interest; private) from 5 September 1937 to 13 June 1940
*
Poste colonial ''Poste may refer to:''
* Poste Airport, (ICAO: ''FEFB'', IATA: ''MKI''), airport in Central African Republic
* Poste Point, a pointe in an Antarctica
* Paray-Vieille-Poste, a commune in France
;Postal services
* La Poste (disambiguation), several ...
(general interest, directed towards the French colonies; state radio) from 30 April 1931 until 1 March 1938. It became
Paris Mondial
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
(general interest, directed towards French colonies, in 20 languages; state radio) from 2 March 1938 until 17 June 1940.
From Public Service to Pirate Radio (non-exhaustive chronological list)
*
Paris 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 ...
, then
RTF 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 ...
(general interest, state-run) from 1947 to 1963. Became
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 ...
(general interest, state-run) from 1963 on.
*
Europe 1
Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...
(general interest, private) from 1955 on.
*
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 ...
(music, public service) from 1963
*
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 ...
(culture, public service), since 1963
* FIP (music, public service) since 1971
* RFI (news and information, public service — similar to 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 ...
and
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
) since 6 January 1975
* Radio Verte (green/ecological/pirate) from 1977 until 1981
* Radio Ivre (drunk radio) (pirate) from 1979 until 1981
*
Radio 7
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...
(music, public service) from 1980 until 1987
*
Ici et Maintenant #REDIRECT ICI
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
From free-form to formats (non-exhaustive chronological list)
*
Nova
A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
(general interest, FM), from 25 May 1981 on.
* Ado FM (local, then musical) from 1981, changed to a commercial station run by Start (Vibration), and now plays R&B.
* Radio Libertaire (anarchist) since 1981.
*
Radio Notre-Dame
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...
(
catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
) since 1981.
* RFM (music) since May 1981, was independent, then owned by the British firm Crown, then groupe Lagardère.
*
NRJ
Nouvelle Radio Jeune, (Acronym: NRJ, , ) is a private France, French radio station created by Jean-Paul Baudecroux and Max Guazzini in June 1981 in France, 1981. Widely popularized by its "godmother", singer Dalida, who prevented it from closi ...
(music) since 1981.
*
Radio FG
Radio FG (; since February 2013, formerly FG DJ Radio, acronym for Feel Good) is a French-language radio station that began broadcasting from Paris on 98.2 MHz in the FM band in 1981. It is France's first radio station that broadcasts deep ...
Radio Classique
Radio Classique is a French commercial radio station created in 1983 that broadcasts mainly classical music. Its programmes also contain segments of economic and political news. As of 2015, it had 1.1 million listeners per day.
Radio Classique w ...
(classical) since January 1983.
*
Nostalgie
Nostalgie is a popular French radio station broadcasting on FM, mostly playing pre-2000s songs with 76% of them coming from the 1980s. Nostalgie is part of the NRJ Group.
History
Radio Nostalgie, now simply Nostalgie, was created on 16 Septemb ...
(news, public service) since 1 June 1987.
* Electric FM (?; owned by de Bouygues); since 1987.
* (rock) from 1981 to 1987.
* Ca bouge dans ma tĂŞte (world) from 1985 to 1987. Became
(alternative rock) SINCE 1987.
* Hit FM (?) from 1 January 1985 to 11 mars 1988. Became
Europe 2
Europe 2 is a French private musical category D radio (category C for local stations). The whole works like a broadcasting network, the local antennas broadcasting a program during the pick-up, and the national program the rest of the time.
Eu ...
(Adult contemporary, sister station to Europe 1) from January 1987 until 12 mars 1988, at which point it became Hit FM once again).
* CFM (General interest FM, sister station of Europe 1) from 15 April 1985 to 30 May 1986. Broadcasts some news shows produced by Europe 1.
* Gilda (General interest FM) from 1981 until 1987. Became
Chic FM
Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word.
Etymology
'' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...
(music) from January 1986 until 2 September 1987 Became
FUN
Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment".
Etymology and usage
The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...
(top 40) in 1987.
* 95.2 (music) from 1983 until 1987. Became KISS FM (General interest FM) from 30 avril 1987 until October 1990; Frequency shared since April 2001 by
Ici et Maintenant #REDIRECT ICI
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
* Muppies FM (children's radio) began as pirate in 1987, later became Superloustic (children's radio) from May 1987 until September 1987. Restarted in 2004 as an AM station.
* Radio Eglantine (Portuguese) from the 1980s until the 1990s.
KWFM (rock) from September 1989 until October 1990, following California FM ot the US station from Tucson, AZ
* Aventure FM (owned by the French Army) from December 1987 until 1989. Became Maxximum (dance; owned by RTL) from 23 October 1989 to 5 January 1992. Became M40 (top 40; owned by RTL) from 6 January 1992 until 18 January 1995. Became RTL 1 (top 40; owned by RTL) from 19 January 1995, then became RTL 2 (pop-rock; owned by RTL) from 1995 on.
* BFM (news) since 1992.
* Bizz FM (Music) from November 1992 to 31 December 1993. Station belonged to Eddie Barclay. Became Chante France (French music) since le 1 January 1994.
*
Le 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 mus ...
(soft rock, public service) since 8 December 2001.
*
banlieue
In France, a banlieue (; ) is a suburb of a large city, or all its suburbs taken collectively. Banlieues are divided into autonomous administrative entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80percent of the inhabitant ...
Val d'Oise
Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the ĂŽle-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.< ...
Hauts de Seine
Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the ĂŽle-de-France Regions of France, region of France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val- ...
) from 1981 until September 1990. Became O'FM from September 1990 until 1998. Became Sport O’FM in 1998, then Sport FM since 2002.
*
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Allan Crawford, initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopol ...
,
Daniel Guichard
Daniel Guichard (; born 21 November 1948) is a French singer, songwriter and record producer.
Life and career
He was born in Paris, of mixed Breton and eastern European heritage, and grew up in the Les Halles area. His father died when he was in ...
Nanterre
Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807.
The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...
), and RSRM. (Rueil-Malmaison) broadcast locally a few years at the start of the 1980s.
* TSF radio du jazz (communist, then jazz) since 1981, broadcast successively from Nanterre then from
Bobigny
Bobigny () is a commune, or town, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, ĂŽle-de-France, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Bobigny is the prefecture (capital city) of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, as well as the seat of the ...
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
and American music.
Current FM band in Paris
*87,8 :
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 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 ...
TSF Jazz
TSF Jazz, previously known as TSF 89.9, is a jazz radio station in Paris, France, that was started in 1999 and owned by Nova Press. The station broadcasts in the ĂŽle-de-France: in Paris on 89.9 FM where it can almost be heard in the whole region ...
*90,4 :
Nostalgie
Nostalgie is a popular French radio station broadcasting on FM, mostly playing pre-2000s songs with 76% of them coming from the 1980s. Nostalgie is part of the NRJ Group.
History
Radio Nostalgie, now simply Nostalgie, was created on 16 Septemb ...
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 ...
*92,1 :
Le 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 mus ...
Music Box
A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces Musical note, musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder (geometry), cylinder or disc to pluck ...
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 ...
BFM Business
BFM Business (called BFM for ''Business FM'' until April 2009 and BFM Radio until November 2010) is France's first business news channel. It is also the most-listened to business news radio station in this country. From November 2010, BFM Busines ...
*96,9 :
Voltage
Voltage, also known as (electrical) potential difference, electric pressure, or electric tension, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a Electrostatics, static electric field, it corresponds to the Work (electrical), ...
Radio FG
Radio FG (; since February 2013, formerly FG DJ Radio, acronym for Feel Good) is a French-language radio station that began broadcasting from Paris on 98.2 MHz in the FM band in 1981. It is France's first radio station that broadcasts deep ...
Sud Radio
Sud Radio is a French privately owned radio station, founded in 1958. Until 2017, it was headquartered in Labège, Haute-Garonne near Toulouse, before it moved to Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine. This relocation to the Parisian region allows for the ra ...
*100,3 :
NRJ
Nouvelle Radio Jeune, (Acronym: NRJ, , ) is a private France, French radio station created by Jean-Paul Baudecroux and Max Guazzini in June 1981 in France, 1981. Widely popularized by its "godmother", singer Dalida, who prevented it from closi ...
Radio Classique
Radio Classique is a French commercial radio station created in 1983 that broadcasts mainly classical music. Its programmes also contain segments of economic and political news. As of 2015, it had 1.1 million listeners per day.
Radio Classique w ...
Virgin Radio
Virgin Radio is a branding of radio stations broadcast in Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Romania, Turkey, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. As of April 2024, there were over 40 stations globally.
The stations ...
RTL
RTL may refer to:
Media
* RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company
*** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels)
*** List of RTL Group's radio stations
** RTL LĂ«tzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...
*104,7 :
Europe 1
Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...
Beur FM
Beur FM is a French local radio station catering mainly to France's Maghrebi communities including: Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians.France Bleu Ile de France
*107,5 : Africa n°1
*107,7 : Autoroute FM
*107,7 : 107,9 : Vent d'Ouest (pirate) (not regular) / Radio Plus (pirate) (not regular)