France Télévisions is the French public television broadcaster. It operates the nationwide channels France 2 (the primary channel of the broadcaster), France 3 (focusing on the regions), France 4 (mostly focused on culture), France 5 (covering societal issues and documentaries), 1ere (focused on French territories overseas), France Info (focused on news), France TV Slash (focused on series),  Okoo (focused on children) and Culturebox (a culture channel that replaced the France O channel in 2021).

France Télévisions has stakes in several privately owned television companies including M6 Group, Lagardere Active and MultiThematiques.


Media assets

Television: France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5, 1ère, Culturebox, France Info

State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Funded and State-Managed (ISFM)


Ownership and governance

France Télévisions is a state-owned company whose main governing structure is a board of directors with 14 members who serve a five-year term. They include two MPs appointed by the committees responsible for cultural affairs of the National Assembly and the Senate, five representatives of the State, five independent personalities appointed by the French broadcast regulator, and two France Télévisions staff representatives. The President/CEO of France Télévisions is appointed by the President of France.

The France Télévisions Board of Directors is supported in its work by several specialized committees including an audit and accounts committee, a strategy committee, a compensation committee and a commitments committee. In recent years, two more committees were created, namely a management committee and an editorial strategy committee.

Source of funding and budget

France Télévisions used to be funded through a combination of revenue from the license fee and advertising revenues. In 2020, according to an annual report from the broadcaster, France Télévisions received €2.95bn from the revenues generated by the license fee, which represented nearly 82% of its total budget. The fee was a flat annual levy of €138 in France and €89 in the French territories overseas that was paid by almost all French citizens. The revenues from this tax were used to fund some other media outlets (e.g., Radio France and Arte). The fee helps insulate the broadcaster from any government pressures (simply because authorities do not get to approve a state subsidy every year). In 2021, the corporation had a total budget of €2.79bn, 85% of which was generated through the license fee, according to the latest annual report from the company.

In the past few years, the government of France has been taking steps to reduce the commercial revenue generated by France Télévisions as a way to make the broadcaster more accountable to its public (rather than to its advertisers) that is expected to become in the near future the sole source of financing France TV.

Somewhat contradicting previous plans, the French government announced in May 2022 that it was planning to end the license fee, part of the election promise by President Emmanuel Macron to slash a raft of taxes. In summer 2022, the license fee was scrapped and replaced by a state budget subsidy, which is generated from VAT receipts.

Editorial independence

In spite of various pressures from political parties and authorities aimed to influence the editorial coverage at France Télévisions or accusations of censorship by various journalists, there is no solid evidence of government control of the broadcaster’s editorial coverage. There are no legal provisions obliging France Télévisions to favor the government in its programs.

There is no domestic statute as such guaranteeing the editorial independence of France Télévisions. However, the broadcaster’s independence is secured through its financing (which is contributed by the public) and through the involvement of independent experts and of the broadcaster’s staff in its governing structures.

Moreover, there are several internal documents that aim at ensuring the professionalism of the broadcaster’s staff and compliance with a set of ethical norms.

According to local experts and journalists, these norms have a significant influence in ensuring the station’s editorial independence. One of those is the Code of Ethics that “brings together the principles of collective and individual behavior which must guide the decisions of its employees and managers.”

The Compliance, Ethics and Professional Conduct Department (DCED), among other things, reports on how ethical and professional norms are respected to the Secretary General, a member of the Executive Committee (COMEX) of France Télévisions. The broadcaster has also referents who set out the “ethics and compliance” policies for each of the company’s subsidiaries.

The broadcaster also has a demanding policy aimed at preventing corruption and fraud at France Télévisions, which also works towards ensuring the station’s editorial independence.

Finally, the broadcaster has followed since 2011 the so-called “Antennas Charter” that formalizes rules regarding adherence of the station’s staff to shared values, which include honesty, transparency, independence and pluralism of information.

France Télévisions has several mechanisms that are meant to assess its editorial independence and define the group’s editorial agenda. One of them is the Editorial Strategy Committee whose main tasks are to define the editorial roadmap and approve the strategic editorial and programming decisions of the broadcaster.

The broadcaster also has an Ethics Committee that monitors its programming to ensure it respects the principles of honesty, independence and pluralism of information. The committee consists of five independent experts who are appointed for a period of three years. It doesn’t have sanctioning powers. Instead, it collects data and information and reports to CSA, France’s audiovisual regulator that has power over all the broadcast media in the country.

Finally, the broadcaster has also recently created the so-called Advisory Programming Council that consists of 30 viewers whose membership is regularly renewed. Its mission is to make recommendations and give advice regarding the programs aired by France Télévisions.

September 2023