France’s international broadcasting system: from colonialism to Francophonie

The article characterizes international broadcasting as a foreign policy instrument of the French Republic and its transformation in a geopolitical context. The relevance of this vector is determined, firstly, by the fact that the state international media of France practically did not participate in the dissemination of propaganda in the period between the World Wars, during the Second World War and the Cold War, which distinguishes French international broadcasting from similar services in Western countries, and, secondly, by the focus of the French international broadcasting system on the promotion of French culture and language, which makes the study of relevant experience useful for Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to identify the main stages of the evolution of French foreign broadcasting as a foreign policy instrument and its structure. To achieve this goal, the tasks of identifying the stages of the formation and development of the foreign broadcasting system of the French Republic and clarifying the current imperatives of this broadcasting were implemented. It was found that, having been founded as a colonial broadcasting service, under the pressure of circumstances in its first decade it turned into an international service. The modern system began to take shape in the mid-1970s, and today includes the radio broadcasting service Radio France Internationale (RFI), a separate radio service Monte Carlo Doualiya for the countries of the Arab region, and the France 24 television channel network. The activities of all these media are coordinated by the state holding France Médias Monde. The global network of French-language television channels TV5 Monde can also be considered part of France’s international broadcasting system. The imperatives of international broadcasting of the French Republic today are the influence on the countries — former French colonies, and the support of French culture and language (foreign broadcasting as one of the instruments of Francophonie policy), which is enshrined in the relevant regulatory documents.