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20th Century
The First World War erupted in 1914 in northeast France and after two years of German victories, fell into the horrors of trench warfare. The United States entered the war in 1917 and helped France to victory. The Allies demanded generous restitutions and payments from the Germans, who resented the humiliation for years, and was one of the factors which sparked WWII.
Radio Stations
Private radios have only been authorized in France since 1982. As with television, the number of private radios increased dramatically since then.
Television Stations
Private radio and television stations have only been authorized in France since 1982. In the following 14 years, the number of TV channels jumped from three to over 30.
Regional Dailies
Enjoying a monopoly situation within a particular area, the regional press is stronger than the national press with 409 titles for a circulation of 2.2 billion copies annually.
Weekly Press
The periodical scene is very lively in France. With 1,354 copies sold for every 1,000 inhabitants, France has the highest rate of magazine readership in the world.
News Weeklies
France’s major general news weeklies are Paris-Match, L’Express, Le Point, Le Nouvel Observateur, VSD, L’Evénement du Jeudi . The price of these periodicals ranges from 14 to 30 francs ($2.50 to $5.40).
An interesting concept, the Courrier international founded in 1990, publishes articles collected in the press worldwide and translated in French (100,000 copies per week).
National Dailies
There are a total of 76 national daily titles in France, representing a circulation of 779 million copies per year.
Minitel
Started in the early eighties by the government’s own France Telecom, the Minitel has become the standard for France’s online services. Present in more than 6 million homes and countless government agencies, Minitel terminals give access to everyone (but for a fee!) to more than 22,000 databases and services. There are only three free services available on the Minitel: the French White Pages directory, a presentation of France Telecom, and a guide to services offered through the Minitel.
Internet à la French
Thanks to the Minitel, France has already had access to high-quality online services for over a decade. It is mainly this same French invention that gave them a slow start on the Internet. France Telecom, the government-controlled company which has the monopoly of the country’s telecommunication network, distributed the Minitel terminals into more than 7 million households.