English-language 'radio' programming is slowly but surely increasing in France, even if you mostly can hear it on your computer speakers rather than your car radio. Expatica France editor Clair Whitmer fills you in on the latest expat programming.
1897: French radio got started broadcasting from the Tour Eiffel
France has long tried to protect its airwaves against anglo-saxon colonisation by imposing French-language programming quotas on their radio and TV stations.
But that effort is mainly intended to protect French pop music from getting bumped off in favour of American and British pop music. The government doesn't seem threatened by the idea of actual anglophones listening to English-language programming.
But the near-impossibility of securing a FM radio licence on the maxed-out French airwaves has still meant a dearth of new programming of all kinds, including that for English speakers.