''Zone interdite'' (, literally "Prohibited area") is a French

newsmagazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...

that has been broadcast since on M6, the second-most watched

TV network A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or, in the United ...

in the French-speaking world. Well known for its

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...

, the show has long been considered one of the most influential in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and has been awarded the ''7 d'or'' in 2000 (France's most prestigious TV award) for ''best newsmagazine on TV''. It is currently presented by

Ophélie Meunier Ophélie Meunier (born 17 December 1987) is a French television presenter and former model. Early life and education Ophélie Meunier was born in Versailles in the department of Yvelines. She grew up in a Mormon household in this town and then ...

Broadcasting

Zone Interdite (often nicknamed ''Zone'') is broadcast on M6 once every two weeks on Sunday

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

, and the following Tuesday at night. Summer shows are broadcast on a different schedule in July and August.

Format and public

Each episode features several

report A report is a document or a statement that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are usually given in the form of written documen ...

s, each one followed by a panel featuring experts, lawmakers, interviewees etc. who discuss the issue the report deals with. The idea behind the show is best defined by its name: ''Zone Interdite'' meaning ''Forbidden Zone'' in French. It deals with the most important and sensitive social and political issues of the time, in order to give the public the best possible insight and to drive general and political attention on them.

Public

With an average of 3 to 5 million viewers and an average of 10% to 30% of the target market shares per episode, it is one of the most-watched

s on French TV.

Influence in France

With its large public, sensitive topics and high-end panels, Zone Interdite is famous for being the first French TV show ever to expound

anorexia Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

and its dangers at a time the

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

was almost unknown to the general public. It was also instrumental in putting

road traffic safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures, such as traffic calming, to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, Driving, motorists, passengers of vehicles, and p ...

into national debate in the early 2000s, which has led to a complete re-writing of the French road safety laws in 2002 and 2007. It has also been at the edge of such sensitive

social issues A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...

Prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

Poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

Cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

s and

Right to housing The right to housing (occasionally right to shelter) is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate house, housing and shelter (building), shelter. It is recognized in some Economic, social and cultural rights#National constitutions, nat ...

, driving public, media and political attention to these issues at a time they were not properly addressed by policymakers.

History

The show was created by famous French

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Patrick de Carolis Patrick de Carolis (born 19 November 1953) is a French TV journalist and writer. He has been president of French public service broadcaster France Télévisions from July 2005 to August 2010. Biography Journalistic career President of Fr ...

and was first aired on 7 March 1993. At that time Carolis - who later become

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

France Television France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

- was M6's Head of Programming. Starting in December 1995, the show was broadcast every two weeks, instead of once a month. In June 1999, 7.5 million people watched the special show about

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

, which has been considered as a starting point for France's renewed lawmaking on the issue. In 2000, the show was awarded the ''

7 d'or 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, super ...

'' (France's most prestigious TV award) for ''best newsmagazine on TV''. In 2002, Zone Interdite celebrated its 200th show, in 2003, its 10 years on air, in 2008 its 15th anniversary. In 2011, it started its 19th season, making it one of the longest running French

TV show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platfo ...

s. In 2006, Melissa Theuriau was appointed ''Zone Interdites new anchor. The same year, the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'' voted her the world's most beautiful news reporter. She was similarly voted "TV's sexiest news anchor" by readers of the US edition of ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...

''. In May 2007, she was voted most beautiful woman in the world in the French edition of '' FHM''.

Anchors

Zone Interdite was presented by: *

from 1993 to 1997 * Florence Dauchez from 1997 to 1998 *

Bernard de la Villardière Bernard Berger de La Villardière (; born 25 March 1958)Bernard ...

from 1998 to 2005 *

Anne-Sophie Lapix Anne-Sophie Lapix (born 29 April 1972) is a French journalist and television presenter mainly for the French news program on France 2. She used to deputise for Claire Chazal, presenting the evening news bulletin ('' Journal de 20 heures'') on ...

from 2005 to 2006 *

Mélissa Theuriau Mélissa Theuriau (; born 18 July 1978) is a French journalist and news anchor for M6. She studied journalism and became a television news presenter. She is the former anchor and co-editor in chief of '' Zone interdite'' on French TV. Early car ...

since 2006 * Claire Barsacq, interim from November 2008 to August 2009 Jean-Michel Maire
« Claire Barsacq remplace Mélissa Theuriau »
''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'', October 29, 2008

External links

Zone Interdite on imdb

Notes and references

{{Reflist 1993 French television series debuts French television news shows 1990s French television series M6 (TV channel) original programming