Media Life in France

Michael Hedges March 3, 2008

In story, French life is wonderful; the wine, the women, the food. Add to that the almost daily Elysée Palace entertainment, the rest of us live in awe. Médiamétrie’s new report – Media in Life - shows just how wonderful it is.

But change has come to France. Daily media ‘contacts’ rose 5.8% from 2006, which was 6.2% higher than 2005. We shudder at the thought of what French people are giving up.

Television and radio are again the most used media but the internet has crept into the daily life of the French. Overall, 89% see television on average each day, 80.5% hear the radio and 78.3% read a newspaper. Increasing most is internet surfing. More than one-third of French people (35.7%) surf the net each day, up from one-quarter (24.8%) in 2005.

Picture morning time in France – coffee, croissant, cigarette (maybe). The radio is on, more than not, 55.3% listening. Only one in five read the newspaper but one in seven (14%) are surfing the net. And at lunch time 41% of French people are watching TV.

Age groups separate media life in the evenings. Barely half French young people (52.4%) age 15 to 24 watch TV, while 17.7% are on their mobile phones and 14.9% are connected to the internet. Young people averaged 45.2 media contacts per day – television, radio, printed media, internet, mobile phone and video games. So much to choose from, so little time. Older French citizens, 35 to 49 years, watch more TV (70%) and occasionally look at a newspaper (10%).

“The French also stay connected with television, the radio and the press at other times of the day, in particular by the internet and mobile devices. These media penetrate, in particular, the professional sphere: for example, 7,3 % of the French listen to the radio at their workplace or school.”

Médiamétrie has offered the Media in Life survey annually since 2005. The 2007 report was released February 28.