France 2

France 2 is a French public television channel that many people watch. It is the main channel of France Télévisions and shows many kinds of programs, such as news, dramas, films, game shows, facts about the world, and sports. The channel’s office is in the 15th part of Paris, near the Seine River.

France 2 started testing its broadcasts on September 10, 1959, and officially began on April 18, 1964. It was first called RTF Télévision 2. Over time, the channel went through many name changes and became part of different groups before becoming France 2 in 1992.

Today, you can watch France 2 on digital television, cable, satellite, and through internet services. It is also available to watch online on France.tv, and some shows can be seen around the world on TV5Monde.

History

Test broadcasts for France 2 began on September 10, 1959, from the Eiffel Tower. The channel officially started on April 18, 1964, as RTF Télévision 2. It later became known as La deuxième chaîne and was the first channel in France to broadcast in color on October 1, 1967.

The channel we know today as France 2 was created in 1975 when the ORTF was split into several organizations. It was called Antenne 2 until it was renamed France 2 in 1992. Since 2008, France 2 has broadcast in widescreen format, and in January 2024, it began broadcasting in 4K UHD.

Main articles: ORTF, 819-line, CET, SECAM, TF1, NICAM, France 3, Radio France, Télédiffusion de France, Institut national de l'audiovisuel, Canal+, La Cinq, France 5, France Télévisions, analogue, digital terrestrial television, CanalSat

Logos

France 2 has had many different logos over the years. Here are some of the logos it has used:

Leaders of France 2

Since September 7, 1992, the general President-Director of France 2 has also governed France Télévision.

Here are some of the directors who have worked at France 2:

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 (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

Main article: List of programs broadcast by France 2

France 2 shows many kinds of programs for everyone to watch. You can find news updates, fun dramas, movies, game shows, real-life stories, and sports events. It aims to have something interesting for all viewers.

Italian coverage

Since 1975, the channel known as Antenne 2 could be watched in some parts of Italy, including Tuscany, Lazio, Lower Veneto, and parts of Lombardy and Liguria. It used different broadcasting systems over time. In 2006, France 2 became available again across Italy on Digital terrestrial television, but this only lasted until mid-2007 when it was replaced by France 24, an all-news channel.

Today, France 2 can only be seen in Aosta Valley because of special rules, and in areas near the border due to signal overlap.

Climate issues

Information about climate change in weather forecasts

In February 2023, two French TV channels, France 2 and France 3, started adding information about climate change to their weather forecasts. These updates make the forecasts a little longer, about 1.5 to 2 minutes. Experts help provide this climate information. The channels also share ways to learn more about climate change and what people can do to help. In France, when possible, reporters will travel by train instead of plane, except for urgent news.

Controversy

In March 1986, a news team from Antenne 2 was taken while reporting on a big fight in Beirut. The team members were held for a while, but they all came back to France soon after.

In 2000, France 2 showed videos of an incident in the Gaza Strip. Later, some people said the story might not have been true as first reported.

During a fight in Gaza in 2009, France 2 showed videos that were later found to be from an older event, not the one they said it was. The station said sorry for the mistake.

In 2013, France 2 made a report saying they found weapons being moved from Serbia to France. But later, it was found that parts of this report were made to look real, and the people in the videos were not really involved in any illegal activity.