France Inter - History

History

Initially founded, in the reorganization of state broadcasting which followed the end of World War II, as "Paris-Inter" and charged with being French public radio's generalist (i.e. "full-service") service, the channel was renamed "France I" in 1958 (even though three years later one of France's most popular radio and television listings magazines was still showing the station's programmes under the heading "Paris-Inter", with "France I" as a subtitle). In 1963, the France I and France II networks were merged to form "RTF Inter", renamed "France Inter" one month later.

The major challenge faced by France Inter at the time of its reorganization in the 1960s was the success which – by adopting a more modern broadcasting style and by earning a reputation for greater freedom from government influence – the private "peripheral stations" (in particular, RTL and Europe 1), broadcasting from powerful transmitters outside France, had achieved in capturing the majority of the French radio audience since the war.

As well as rapidly modernizing its style to match that of its competitors, France Inter – although it does carry a limited amount of paid-for advertising – laid stress on its freedom from commercial pressures and especially on presenting itself, under the slogan Écoutez la différence ("Listen to the difference"), as intelligent radio accessible to a general audience.