France 2 is today the largest public television broadcaster in France. It is part of France Télévisions, as are the other public broadcasters.
History
The broadcast started on 21 December 1963, when it was still broadcast in black and white. The station belonged to the then public broadcasting company Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française and was called La Deuxième Chaîne (The Second Programme). On 1 October 1967, at 14:15 hrs, the changeover to colour television took place. La Deuxième Chaîne was the first and for some years the only French television station to broadcast in colour.
With the division of ORTF into seven successor companies on 8 July 1974, the station became an independent company under the new name Antenne 2.
On 7 September 1992, the current broadcasting company France Télévisions was created from the two stations Antenne 2 and FR3. Since then, the station has been known under its current name France 2.
Since 2015, France 2 has been responsible for French participation in the Eurovision Song Contest.
France 2 in Germany
France 2 can be received via antenna and analogue cable in border areas and can often be received nationwide via digital cable.
News
As one of the two main French channels, France 2 produces a 40-minute news programme every evening at 8 p.m., in direct competition with the news from TF1, the largest French television channel, which also starts at 8 p.m. Even more important than the German Tagesschau are the main French news, which help to shape social discourse. In addition to news and reports, the programmes regularly include interviews with studio guests.
The French President is entitled to interrupt the news programmes of France 2 and TF1 at the same time in order to speak to the French people, which the presidents of France regularly make use of. In a presentation familiar to German television viewers from the President’s Christmas speech and the Chancellor’s New Year’s speech, the President, after recording a fanfare live from his office, announces important decisions and announcements with a tricolour in the background, in a television speech which is always accompanied by ” Mes chers compatriotes! “(“My dear compatriots!”).
News from abroad concerning the EU or other neighbouring countries is of little importance and is regarded as unimportant, partly because viewers react with disinterest.