The media landscape offers a wide range of choices across all segments, both nationally and locally. In the print media, the daily Ouest-France is the best-selling newspaper. The public television channels and radio stations of France Télévisions and Radio France compete with private broadcasters, such as TF1, M6, RTL and BFM TV. The concentration of private-sector media groups in the hands of a few businessmen is becoming a major concern. The expansion of the Bolloré group (CNews, Paris Match, Europe 1 and Le Journal du Dimanche), which absorbed the Lagardère group in 2023, worries the media sector due to the harsh and interventionist methods of its shareholder and the lack of internal pluralism, raising fears that opinion will triumph over facts. The appointment of a publishing director at the head of the recently acquired Le Journal du Dimanche was disputed by the newspaper’s editorial staff and led to a record 40-day strike and the departure of dozens of journalists.

The French media are independent of the government and can hold political leaders accountable in the public interest. The public broadcast media’s independence is nonetheless undermined by the lack of lasting funding after the elimination of the TV licence fee in 2022. Both political and private sector lobbying of the media is becoming more and more frequent. Announced by the President of the Republic and led by an independent committee, a national conference on information was launched in October 2023, offering the prospect of a collective debate on the challenges of journalism.

The legal framework is generally protective of freedom of the press and journalists, but flaws threaten the confidentiality of journalists' sources, and leave room for dangerous circumventions of the press law and for legal proceedings against journalists. Also, although the media law in France defines the rights and duties of the press (honesty, independence and pluralism of information), it is inadequate to guarantee their respect. The Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom), in particular, fails to enforce requirements. In response to an appeal by RSF, the Council of State issued a decision in February 2024 overriding Arcom's refusal to act against the CNews TV channel. This marked a turning point in the enforcement of the principles of news media pluralism and independence.

A fall in advertising revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic was partly offset by an increase in online media subscriptions and state aid. The legal framework remains insufficient to prevent the concentration of the media in the hands of a handful of owners. 

A significant level of distrust towards journalists has been reflected in recent years in verbal and physical attacks, especially during protests against the government’s public health and social policies. Journalists have also been the target of physical and online attacks by far-right, far-left, Islamist and conspiracy movements. Environmental reporters are often subjected to intimidation.

Despite the adoption of a new law enforcement place that is more respectful of press freedom, journalists have continued to be the target of police violence as well as physical attacks by protesters. Several journalists are under police protection because of threats from Islamist terrorists, who killed members of the editorial staff of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in 2015 and struck again outside its former premises in 2020.