France 2 () is a French
free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...
public television
Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...
channel. The flagship channel of
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 ...
, it broadcasts
generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sports. It is headquartered alongside its sister networks at France Télévisions' headquarters in the
15th arrondissement of Paris
The 15th arrondissement of Paris () is one of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ('the fifteenth').
The 15th arrondissement, called , is situated on the Rive ...
, along the
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 plat ...
.
The channel began test broadcasts on 10 September 1959 and officially launched on 18 April 1964 as RTF Télévision 2, under the control of
Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française
Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (; RTF; "French Radio and Television Broadcasting") was the French national public broadcaster television organization established on 9 February 1949 to replace the post-war "''Radiodiffusion Française''" ...
(RTF). RTF was succeeded by the
Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française
The (; ORTF; , or French Radio and Television Broadcasting Office) was the national agency charged, between 1964 and 1975, with providing public radio and television in France. All programming, especially news broadcasts, were under strict cont ...
(ORTF) in 1964. On 6 January 1975, ORTF was dissolved and split into multiple independent organisations under government control, with the channel operating as Antenne 2. In 1992, the channel merged with
FR3 under the new organisation France Télévision, and was renamed France 2. In 2000, France 2 and France 3 were merged with the remaining public channels under the present-day France Télévisions.
France 2 is broadcast nationally via
TNT
Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...
in
high
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...
- and
ultra-high-definition, while it is also carried by all cable, satellite, and IPTV providers. It is also
streamed
Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downloadin ...
on France.tv, while some of its programmes are broadcast internationally by
TV5Monde
TV5Monde (), formerly known as TV5, is a French public television network, broadcasting several channels of French-language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union.
The network is available across ...
.
History
Test broadcasts began on 10 September 1959. They were transmitted from the Eiffel Tower on channel 12 to broadcast experimental programmes. The channel was scheduled to start on 2 January 1960 on VHF channels 10 and 12. Originally under the ownership of the
RTF. However, broadcasts on neighbouring channels led to constant errors, with reception being ruined in one of the two assigned frequencies. This prompted RTF to reserve the UHF band for the service. The channel went on the air for the first time on 18 April 1964 as ''
RTF Télévision 2''. Within a year,
ORTF rebranded that channel as ''La deuxième chaîne'' (The Second Channel). Originally, the network was broadcast on 625-line transmitters only in preparation for the discontinuation of
819-line
819-line was an Analog television, analog monochrome television, TV system developed and used in France as television broadcast resumed after World War II. Transmissions started in 1949 and were active up to 1985, although limited to France, Bel ...
black & white transmissions and the introduction of colour. The switch to colour occurred at 14:15
CET
CET or cet may refer to:
Places
* Cet, Albania
* Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus
* Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Comcast En ...
on 1 October 1967, using the
SECAM
SECAM, also written SÉCAM (, ''Séquentiel de couleur à mémoire'', French for ''sequential colour memory''), is an analog color television system that was used in France, Russia and some other countries or territories of Europe and Africa. ...
system. ''La deuxième chaîne'' became the first colour television channel in France.
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 ...
would not commence colour broadcasting on 625-lines until 1 September 1975. Such technology later allowed the network to air programming in
NICAM
Near Instantaneous Companded Audio Multiplex (NICAM) is an early form of lossy compression for digital audio. It was originally developed in the early 1970s for point-to-point links within broadcasting networks.Croll, M.G., Osborne, D.W. and Spi ...
stereo (compatible with SECAM).
The present channel is the direct successor of Antenne 2, established under a 1974 law that mandated the breakup of ORTF into seven distinct organisations. Three television "programme corporations" were established on 6 January 1975 –
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 ...
, Antenne 2 and FR3, now
France 3
France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming.
France 3 is structured as a Region ...
– alongside
Radio France
Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster.
Stations
Radio France offers seven national networks:
*France Inter — Radio France's "generalist media, generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed wi ...
, the Société française de production, the public broadcasting agency
Télédiffusion de France
TDF (which stands for ''Télédiffusion de France'' officially renamed ''TDF'' in 2004) is a French company which provides radio and television transmission services, services for telecommunications operators, and other multimedia services � ...
and the
Institut national de l'audiovisuel (INA). Antenne 2 and the other corporations were constituted as limited companies with the state controlling 100% of their capital. Although the three channels were set up as competitors vying for advertisers, they retained a collective monopoly over television broadcasting in France that was not repealed until 1981. Privately owned channels such as
Canal+
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
and
La Cinq
La Cinq (, ) was a French free-to-air television channel. Created by politician Jérôme Seydoux and Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, it existed from 1986 to 1992.
The contract for France's fifth terrestrial network, which was suppos ...
(now superseded by
France 5
France 5 () is a French free-to-air public television channel, part of the France Télévisions group. Principally featuring nonfiction and educational programming, the channel's motto is ''la chaîne de la connaissance et du savoir'' (the knowl ...
) soon became major competitors to the state-owned channels after the state monopoly was lifted.
[Rigourd, Serge. "France", in ''Western Broadcasting at the Dawn of the 21st Century'', pp. 255, 270. Eds. Haenens, Leen; Saeys, Frieda. Walter de Gruyter, 2001. ] The breakup of ORTF had been intended to stimulate competition between the public channels but failed in this aim; both TF1 and Antenne 2 came to rely on a diet of popular entertainment shows alongside cheap American imports, seeking to maximise ratings and attract advertisers.
TF1 was privatised in 1987, radically affecting the balance of the French television market. The remaining state-owned channels came under severe pressure from their private competitors and lost 30% of their market share between 1987 and 1989. In an effort to save them, a single director-general was appointed to manage both Antenne 2 and FR3 and the two channels merged to form the
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 ...
group. They were renamed on 7 September 1992 as France 2 and France 3 respectively.
In 1995, the combined audience share of the two state-owned channels was 41%, with France 2 in particular being heavily dependent on advertising and sponsorship revenues, which comprised 43.8% of its budget by 1996. The focus on ratings led to strong rivalry with TF1, for instance prompting the two channels to broadcast popular shows and news programmes in the same timeslots. TF1 and France 2 compete for the same demographics; dramas (including American imports), game shows and light entertainments form the dominant mix on both channels.
Since 3:20 CET on 7 April 2008, all France 2 programming has been broadcast in 16:9 widescreen format over the French
analogue and
digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...
. An HD simulcast feed of France 2 has been broadcasting on satellite provider
CanalSat
Canal+ is a French subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and subscription TV provider. The TV provider was established as CanalSatellite in 1992 and later rebranding to CanalSat and the streaming service was launched a ...
since 1 July 2008 and on digital terrestrial television since 30 October 2008.
In January 2024, the channel began broadcasting in 4K UHD.
Logos
File:ORTF 2 1974.png, The logo of ORTF 2 from 1972 until 1975
File:Antenne 2 ('77).svg, Logo of Antenne 2 (1977-1986; logo remained in use for startup/closedown montage until 1990)
File:Logo France 2 1992.svg, Logo of France 2 from 7 September 1992 till 31 August 2003
File:France 2 Logo 2002.svg, Logo of France 2 from 1 September 2003 till 7 April 2008
File:France 2 logo.png, Logo of France 2 from 7 April 2008 till 29 January 2018
File:France 2 HD.svg, Above, but with the text "HD" on the right. Reused by NBT until 2024, but recolored to purple.
File:France 2 - logo 2018.svg, Logo of France 2 from 29 January 2018
File:France 2 2018.svg, On-screen logo of France 2 from 29 January 2018
Leaders of France 2
;General President-Director
* Since 7 September 1992, the general President-Director of France 2 has governed over both France 2 and
France Télévision.
;General Directors
* Georges Vanderchmitt (September 1992 – January 1994)
* Raphaël Hadas-Lebel (January 1994 – June 1996)
* Michel Pappalardo (June 1996 – June 1999)
*
Michèle Cotta (June 1999 – June 2002)
* Christopher Baldelli (June 2002 – September 2005)
* Philippe Baudillon (September 2005 – December 2007)
* François Guilbeau (December 2007 – August 2010)
* Claude-Yves Robin (August 2010 – 2 October 2011)
* Bertrand Mosca (3 October 2011 – 2 April 2012)
* Jean Réveillon (since 2 April 2012)
;Program Directors
* Jean-Pierre Cottet (14 June 1996 – 20 July 1998)
* Patrice Duhamel (20 July 1998 – ?)
* François Tron (July 2001 – 1 October 2004)
* Yves Bigot (1 October 2004 – 1 September 2005)
* Jean-Baptiste Jouy (1 September 2005 – 20 January 2007)
* Éric Stemmelen (20 January 2007 – 1 July 2009)
* Alain Vautier (1 July 2009 – 14 September 2011)
* Perrine Fontaine (2008 – 28 September 2012)
* Philippe Vilamitjana (2 April 2012 – 21 October 2013)
* Thierry Thuillier (since 21 October 2013)
;Information Directors
* Jean-Luc Mano (December 1993 – June 1996)
* Pierre-Henri Arnstam (June 1996 – September 2000)
* Gérard Leclerc (September 2000 – July 2001)
* Olivier Mazerolle (July 2001 – March 2004)
*
Arlette Chabot
Arlette Chabot (born 21 July 1951) is a prominent French journalist and political commentator. She was until August 2010 the head of the editorial team of France 2. In March 2011 she moved to the radio station Europe 1 to become head of news and i ...
(March 2004 – 19 August 2010)
* Thierry Thuillier (20 August 2010 – 21 October 2013)
* Yannick Letranchant (since 21 October 2013)
;Writing Directors
* Éric Monier (2010–2015)
* Michel Dumoret (since March 2021)
;Sports Directors
* Jean Réveillon (1992–1998)
*
Patrick Chêne (1999–2000)
*
Charles Biétry (2000–2001)
* Frédéric Chevit (2001–2005)
*
Daniel Bilalian (since March 2005)
Programming
Italian coverage
From 1975, ''Antenne 2'' was available in Italy (regions of
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence.
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
, Lazio,
Lower Veneto and parts of
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
and
Liguria
Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...
) using
SECAM
SECAM, also written SÉCAM (, ''Séquentiel de couleur à mémoire'', French for ''sequential colour memory''), is an analog color television system that was used in France, Russia and some other countries or territories of Europe and Africa. ...
and since 1983 using
PAL
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
until 2003 when the frequencies were sold to various television networks such as
Canale Italia
Canale Italia S.r.l. is a Veneto-based Italian broadcasting company.
History
After more than 20 years broadcasting in the Northeast Italy under the name Serenissima TV, in 2004 it acquired UHF channels from France 2 relay ''Telecentrotoscan ...
and
Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso
GEDI Gruppo Editoriale S.p.A., formerly known as S.p.A., is an Italian media conglomerate. Founded in 1955, it is based in Turin, Italy, and controlled by the Agnelli family through Exor. The company is known for publishing newspapers ''La Re ...
.
On 11 December 2006, France 2 was again made available across Italy on
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...
until 7 June 2007, when it was replaced by all-news French TV network
France 24
France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market.
Based in the Paris suburb ...
.
France 2 is now only available in
Aosta Valley
The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...
due to Italian self-government laws, and in the border zones because of natural spillover.
Climate issues
Information about climate change in weather forecasts
In February 2023, 2 state TV channels, France 2 and
France 3
France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming.
France 3 is structured as a Region ...
have begun to enter information regarding
climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
in their weather forecasts. This will make the forecasts 1.5–2 minutes longer. The climate related information will rely on experts. The channels will also provide information about climate change and the ways to counter that to their workers. In France, except in case of breaking news they will ask reporters to take the train instead of a plane.
Controversy
Lebanese Civil War kidnapping of Antenne 2 news team
In March 1986, an Antenne 2 news team was
kidnapped in
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
while reporting on the
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.
The religious diversity of the ...
. Philippe Rochot, Georges Hansen, Aurel Cornéa and Jean-Louis Normandin were four of many Western hostages held by terrorists during the conflict. During the opening sequences of Antenne 2 news bulletins, the headlines would be followed by a reminder of the French hostages held in Lebanon, including others such as Michel Seurat and Jean-Paul Kaufman, with names, photos and the length of their captivity. Within a year, most of the news team had been released and returned to France, but the reminders continued until all the hostages had been freed.
Muhammad al-Durrah shooting
On 30 September 2000, France 2 aired the famous footage of the shooting of
Muhammad al-Durrah
On 30 September 2000, the second day of the Second Intifada, 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah () was killed at the Netzarim Junction in the Gaza Strip during widespread protests and riots across the Palestinian territories against Israeli ...
in the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
. The scene was filmed by a Palestinian journalist,
Talal Abu Rahma, who worked for the station. The voiceover, blaming the killing on fire from the
Israeli Defence Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
, was provided by the channel's reporter
Charles Enderlin
Charles Enderlin (; born 1945) is a French-Israeli journalist, specialising in the Middle East and Israel. He is the author of a number of books on the subject, including ''Shamir, une biographie'' (1991), ''Shattered Dreams: The Failure of the P ...
. Subsequently, that account was put in doubt, with others suggesting that the fatal shots could not have come from the IDF position. France 2 later launched
libel
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
actions against commentators who alleged that the incident was staged. France 2 won a case against one of those critics,
Philippe Karsenty who was eventually and definitely fined €7,000 by the
Court of Appeal of Paris in 2013.
["Media analyst convicted over France-2 Palestinian boy footage"]
Associated Press, 26 June 2013. Karsenty had been convicted in 2006, acquitted on appeal in 2008, a decision that was overturned in 2012 by the
Cour de cassation.
Gaza War 2009
In January 2009, during the
Gaza War
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
, France 2 was accused of airing misleading footage that was biased against
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
It aired portion of a video that purported to show destruction caused by the Israel Air Force, but was shown to be a different incident from 2005 in which the IDF denied having any involvement. After being alerted to the error by
bloggers
A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
, France 2 acknowledged the error and formally apologized in the magazine ''
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'', ...
'', saying that it was an "internal malfunction" caused by their staff having "worked too fast."
2013 report on weapons smuggling from Serbia to France
France 2 has been accused of knowingly producing and airing a news item whose key part it fabricated and staged.
On 7 March 2013, France 2 aired an eight-minute investigative report purporting to expose a weapons smuggling channel from Serbia to France. The report authors, journalists Franck Genauzeau and Régis Mathé, traveled to Serbia in February 2013 where they filmed a story claiming that Serbia is a hub for international weapons smuggling. Among its footage, the report showed two masked men – identified as Serbian weapons smugglers – who talked about their supposed illegal activity while showing off some of the weaponry: in particular two hand guns and one
AK-47 Kalashnikov. They're also shown firing off rounds in the woods.
After the report aired, the
Serbian police's criminal department (UKP) conducted a month-long investigation, revealing its findings in May 2013 that parts of the French news story were staged with full knowledge of the two France 2 journalists.
According to the police report, Genauzeau and Mathé arrived in Belgrade where they hired a local media fixer named Aleksandar M. who was employed at a Serbian news agency, giving him the task of finding weapons smugglers willing to go before a camera. Aleksandar M. apparently contacted his cousin Nenad Mirković and told him that the French were willing to pay €800 for weapons smugglers. At this point Mirković decided that he himself will appear on camera and also contacted his friend Žarko Blagojević to do the same. In order to make their act more credible, they then obtained two handguns –
Zastava 9mm and 7.56mm – from Blagojević's father-in-law and father respectively. They also decided to get an automatic weapon by buying it from a certain Milorad Novaković, a resident of
Umka
Umka ( sr-cyrl, Умка) is a suburban settlement of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the municipality of Čukarica. The settlement is notorious for the soil creep, so much that the apocryphal classified "Home for sale n Umka low mileage" en ...
. Apparently, the two first offered him €200, but Novaković wanted €350, at which point they went back to two French journalists asking for more money and getting it.
Coached by Genauzeau and Mathé, the footage featuring masked Blagojević and Mirković was shot at a house owned by Blagojević's friend in Umka. Afterwards, they went into the nearby woods in Duboko near Umka where they fired off a few rounds for the cameras. They then returned the two handguns to Blagojević's father and father in law before selling the Kalashnikov for €100. According to the Serbian police report, Aleksandar M. was paid €300 by the French journalists while Mirković and Blagojević split the €800 between themselves.
Serbian foreign minister
Ivan Mrkić reacted to the police report by "seeking explanations from France as the ministry looks to make sure the untruths from the report are clarified".
French national TV fabricates story about weapons smuggling
B92, 27 May 2013
References
External links
*
France Télévisions Corporate site
{{Authority control
02
Television channels and stations established in 1964
French-language television stations
Television stations in France