What method/device do you use to stay up to date on current events? A couple decades ago, reading the newspaper, listening to the news on the radio or watching current events unfold on television were the only options. I remember watching les infos de 20 hrs sur TF1 (the 8 o’clock news on TF1) and la météo (the weather) with my parents. Times have changed and today we are bombarded with news in every conceivable form. From apps on our smartphones to the browsers on our computer to satellite radio and more, we have access to the latest news within seconds on a variety of devices.

We can still read our local paper journal (newspaper) but thanks to the Internet, we now have access to the most recent news from different parts of the world and in a variety of languages.

France has no shortage of journaux (newspapers pl.), one of which began circulating nearly two centuries ago. Like many of the largest American newspapers, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal for example, the major French publications have made the leap into the digital era and offer virtual newspapers viewable on all your electronic devices.

If you’re looking to practice your French reading comprehension skills and would like to keep up on what’s going on in France and around the world, any of the major French newspapers can provide you with a good dose of les actualités (the news). Keep in mind, some are quotidiens (daily) while others are hebdomadaires (weekly).

Let’s run through some of the sections you might find in French newspapers and/or their websites to help you navigate their content.

Actualités (News) – This will give you the latest news and is not topic-specific.

À la une (Front page) – This refers to the front page of a newspaper so it is deemed the most important piece of content. This will usually be the homepage of a news website.

Politique (Politics) – Anything having to do with the political world, both foreign and domestic.

Société (Society) – Topics may vary, but you would want to visit this section to read up on currents events in France.

International or Monde (International or World) – As the section title implies, you will read about events beyond the domestic sphere.

Culture (Culture) – This section will include the latest news in the world of cinéma (film), musique (music), les arts (the arts), livres (books), etc.

Économie (Economy) – Read up on financial news in this section, including details about la Bourse de Paris (the Paris Stock Exchange).

Sciences/Tech (Science/Tech) – These sections may be separate but they are sometimes combined. Learn about new discoveries in science and read about groundbreaking innovations in the tech/web sphere.

Although they are found in most French newspapers, the sections listed above might differ slightly from publication to publication. Larger publications may have additional sections such as Sports, Style, Santé (Health), Fait Divers (Various Facts) and Auto (Cars) but the sections above are shared among most of them.

In the next posts, we’ll look in greater detail at some of these French newspapers that have informed and entertained readers for decades.