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French · Vocabulary · B1 to C1

French media vocabulary: la une, le JT, and the conditionnel of the news

À la une · Politique Le Premier ministre aurait démissionné The prime minister has reportedly resigned
Le Premier ministrethe prime ministerauraitwould-havedémissionnéresigned
luh pruh-MYAY mee-NEESTR o-RAY day-mee-syo-NAY · “The prime minister has reportedly resigned”Why: The conditionnel (aurait + participle) means the news isn’t confirmed yet: “reportedly”.

Short answer: the news is les informations or les infos; the front page is la une, so a story “à la une” is front-page news. The TV news is le journal télévisé, or le JT, traditionally at 8 p.m. French journalists use the conditionnel (the “would” form) to report unconfirmed facts: le ministre serait malade means “the minister is reportedly ill”. On social media you publies, partages and suis (follow) accounts.

How a French front page is built

Le titre, la manchette, le chapeau

le titrela manchettele chapeaules brèvesla légende
La manchette is the big headline, not a sleeve as in a shirt (also une manchette). The chapeau (“hat”) is the short summary that sits on top of the article.
la unela ÜN
the front page; à la une = on the front page
le titreluh TEETR
the newspaper’s name at the top (also a headline)
la manchettela man-SHET
the main front-page headline
le chapeauluh sha-POH
short summary above an article
la légendela lay-ZHAND
photo caption
la brèvela BREV
short news item, a few lines long
The certainty scale of French news

Est, serait, selon des rumeurs

The same fact can be stated firmly or kept at a distance. Moving down the scale, the journalist vouches for it less and less.

estcertainty: confirmed
Le ministrethe ministerestismalade.ill
luh mee-NEESTR ay ma-LAD · “The minister is ill.”Why: The present indicative states a fact the paper stands behind.
selon / d’aprèscertainty: sourced
Selonaccording-tol’AFP,the AFPle ministrethe ministerestismalade.ill
suh-LON la-ef-PAY, luh mee-NEESTR ay ma-LAD · “According to AFP, the minister is ill.”Why: The fact is pinned to a source. The AFP is France’s national news agency.
seraitcertainty: unconfirmed
Le ministrethe ministerseraitwould-bemalade.ill
luh mee-NEESTR suh-RAY ma-LAD · “The minister is reportedly ill.”Why: The conditionnel journalistique: the paper reports it without confirming it.
il semblerait quecertainty: rumour
Il sembleraitit would-seemquethatle ministrethe ministersoitbemalade.ill
eel san-bluh-RAY kuh luh mee-NEESTR swa ma-LAD · “It would seem the minister is ill.”Why: The most cautious form. sembler que is followed by the subjunctive (soit), the verb form for things that aren’t certain.
The French media landscape

Le Monde, Ouest-France, le JT de 20 h

Quotidien nationalLe Monde, Le Figaro, LibérationDaily national papers: centre-left, right and left.
Presse régionaleOuest-FranceThe PQR (regional daily press) sells more than any national paper; Ouest-France is the biggest.
SportL’ÉquipeThe national daily sports paper.
HebdomadaireLe Canard enchaînéSatirical weekly famous for political scoops; no advertising.
TélévisionLe JT de 20 hThe 8 p.m. news on TF1 (private) and France 2 (public) is a national ritual.
RadioFrance InterThe main public radio station, part of Radio France.
Social media words

Publier, partager, suivre, liker

JeIsuisfollowcethiscompte.account
zhuh SWEE suh KONT · “I follow this account.”Why: je suis means both “I am” (être) and “I follow” (suivre). Context tells you which.
Ellesheahaspartagésharedmamypublication.post
el a par-ta-ZHAY ma pü-blee-ka-SYON · “She shared my post.”Why: Passé composé (the everyday past tense): avoir + participle. Partager → partagé.
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Related guides

seraitFuture and conditional →Where serait and aurait come from.soitSubjunctive →Why il semble que takes soit.le mailTechnology vocabulary →Franglais: le mail, le smartphone.le JTAdvanced listening →News-speed French.