Reading French newspapers and magazines
Reading articles in French newspapers and magazines is one of the best ways to increase your vocabulary and to gain a perspective on current events. Young Americans are often surprised to find out how much their French counterparts know about current events, American history, and world politics. The ability to read a newspaper is within the reach of the secondary school student, and it is a necessary goal for anyone who wants to understand French culture and to someday function as an intelligent adult in a foreign culture.
Advice: Start with simple topics. Learn something about the topic in English before you attempt to read in a foreign language. You can read the newspaper or go to web sites such as CNN or Yahoo . There are many cognates in a news story, and you should be able to gain an understanding without looking up too many words. If you can't, try another article or a different paper or magazine. Articles in the magazine Paris Match have pictures and are written on a more basic level that a paper like Le Monde.
A word of caution: American media tend to assume you don't know much, and always start with an explanatory paragraph. Even the New York Times will start an article by saying: " Secretary of State Colin Powell stated yesterday that "Iraqui president Saddam Hussein..." Expect no such help in French, since they assume that you understand the basics. Similarly, the French also love acronyms, or sigles. These can be particularly frustrating when you read something like : « Prévoyant une réaction négative par les députés RPR à une hausse du SMIC et du RMI, le PCF a entamé une campagne publicitaire… » By going to a specialized online dictionary, you would get the general drift, that the leftists and the conservatives are arguing over a rise in the minimum wage and payments to the unemployed.
Following are some of the major French papers and some links around the Francophone world. Click on French Language Newspapers to see a master list with hundreds of publications in French around the world.
A conservative Parisian paper. It closely represents the views of the RPR party of the French president Jacques Chirac, who was mayor of Paris before his election in 1995, and of the Parisian "establishment.". As such, it is the paper you are most likely to find in your Paris hotel.
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The largest and most respected Parisian paper. Known for its sophisticated articles on diplomacy and international affairs, this paper is essential reading for those who follow governmental affairs. Difficult reading if you do not have a strong command of the language and a good background in current events. Le Monde has tended to represent the views of the moderate left.
L'Equipe is a daily sports paper. The web site allows you to follow the latest sports results and also get an overview of what is going on in various sports. No football, but lots of soccer, cycling, sailing, basketball, and many others.
The official newspaper of the French Communist Party, it offers limited information on line. Once a major force in French politics, it has lost readership over the years. Their current claim to fame is a yearly festival called "La fête de l'Humanité."
A left-leaning independent Parisian newspaper that is highly respected.
A regional paper (Normandy and Brittany). Because of numerous local editions, it is France's biggest paper, with a daily circulation that rivals the New York Times.
A major Swiss paper published in Geneva.
A major French language daily paper in Montreal, Canada. Montreal is the chief city of Quebec, a Canadian province that has seen a strong French Canadian separatist movement since the 1970's. Quebec voters have twice come close to voting to secede from Canada and to become an independent country.
Published in Beirut, Lebanon. France occupied Lebanon and Syria between the World Wars, leaving strong cultural traces.
http://www.rdl.com.lb/2004/q4/3969/index.html
Published in Tunisia (Tunésie), another former French colony that is part of the Maghreb, the area of arab states (former French colonies) in North Africa that borders the Mediterranean. The paper represents the government's position, and this can be seen in the topics and the positions taken by the paper.
Published weekly in Algiers, the capital of Algeria. Algeria was the site of a painful colonial war in the late 50's. This paper represents the conservative governmental forces in the country that are trying to maintain contact with European values and stability and to attract Arab moderates in face of internal Islamic rebel movements