Communications

Overview

The French telephone system, with some 39,200,000 telephones, is highly developed, relying for domestic traffic on extensive cable and microwave radio-relay networks, widely introduced fiber-optic systems, and satellite systems. The international system relies on two Intelsat earth stations (with a total of five antennas⎯two for the Indian Ocean and three for the Atlantic Ocean), high-frequency (HF) radio communications with more than 20 countries, Inmarsat service, and Eutelsat TV service.

Until 1997, the state-owned France Télécom had a monopoly on telecommunications in France. In 1997 the government began reducing its stake, now below 42 percent. While the partially privatized France Télécom maintains its monopoly on local calls, the telecommunications sector has been opened to competition in the European Union (EU)–wide deregulated market, and other companies offer telephone subscriptions for long-distance and medium-distance calls.

France Télécom, acquiring the British company Orange, secured its leading position in the highly competitive domestic mobile phone market. At the same time, acquisitions made France Télécom the world’s most highly indebted company, requiring a rescue plan in late 2002. The financial future of the company as well as of the entire sector in France and EU-wide, is uncertain. Since the late 1990s, mobile phone subscriptions have risen sharply, but so has investment. At the end of 2001, 59.4 percent of the French population subscribed to a mobile phone service. Operating licenses for third-generation mobile phones, using Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) technology, have been awarded to France Télécom, Cegetel, and Bouygues.

In Internet use, France is catching up to the world’s leaders, after a slight lag. At the end of 2001, 31.9 percent of the French population—almost 19 million people—had Internet access, compared with 61.8 percent in the United States, 40.2 percent in the United Kingdom, and 37.7 percent in Germany. Among those with secondary education and above, the level is much higher.

By late 2003, 93 percent of companies had Internet connections, and 56 percent had their own Web sites. A few thousand French-owned online shopping sites exist, but French consumers have shown limited enthusiasm for e-commerce.

Mass Media

French television is partly state-controlled and partly in private hands, with all television channels carrying advertising. Three channels—the flagship TF1, privatized in 1987, and the state-owned France 2 and France 3—typically account for about three-quarters of the total television audience. The growth of satellite and cable TV has led to a proliferation of channels, with the largest controlled by media giant Vivendi Universal. Other channels include the entertainment outlet Métropole 6 (M6), and the Franco-German channel, Arte, which broadcasts in both countries and languages. The international French-language channel TV5, cofinanced by Belgium, Canada, and Switzerland, is available globally. French domestic TV channels have many viewers in Maghreb countries.

The leading radio outlets are RTL (Radio Télédiffusion Luxembourgoise) and Europe 1, both popular nationwide commercial stations, and France-Inter, the major French public radio network, and the all-news France Info, both part of Radio France. These radio outlets together account for more than one-third of the total radio audience. There are also numerous FM stations throughout the country. In addition, France’s international broadcasters have significant audiences abroad. Radio France Internationale is one of the world’s leading international stations, a kind of French World Service, with a widely heard Arabic-language offshoot, Radio Monte Carlo Moyen Orient.

France has more than 100 daily newspapers, most privately held and unaffiliated with political parties. The leading publications include the quality national daily newspapers, the highly regarded and best-selling Le Monde, with a center-left outlook (circulation 360,000); Le Figaro, with a right-of-center outlook (circulation 350,000); Libération, to the left of Le Monde; and La Croix. The two daily business newspapers are Les Echos (circulation 124,000 in 2001) and La Tribune (86,000). The sports daily, the famous L’Equipe, is also widely read (360,000 in 2001).

The weekly news magazine with the largest circulation is Paris-Match (762,000 in 2000). Other major newsweeklies include L’Express and Le Point. France also has a strong regional daily press, the total circulation of which dwarfs that of the national press. The largest regional daily is Ouest-France in Rennes (773,000 in 2001). Another notable publication is the Paris-based International Herald Tribune, published in English.

Source: Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile