Radio France Internationale
Encyclopedia
Radio France Internationale (RFI) was created in 1975 as part of Radio France
by the Government of France
, and replaced the Poste Colonial (created in 1931), Paris Mondial (1938), Radio Paris
(1939), RTF Radio Paris (1945) and ORTF Radio Paris (1965). In 1986 a new law passed by the French Parliament allowed RFI to operate independently of Radio France.
RFI operates under the auspices and primary budget of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs
. It broadcasts primarily in French, but also in English
, Kiswahili, Hausa
, Spanish
, Portuguese
, Romanian
, Russian
, Chinese
, Vietnamese
and Polish
. It also owns Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East
, which produces Arabic
programmes in Paris, and airs them from a transmitter in Cyprus to audiences across the Middle East and North Africa.
lese President Gnassingbé Eyadéma
tried to stop the broadcasting of an interview with one of his opponents, Agbéyomé Kodjo
, by phoning directly to the Elysée Palace
. The interview was not censored
by Jean-Paul Cluzel
, RFI's CEO at the time, due to the coordinated intervention of the journalists' trade-unions. However, a report raising questions regarding the French secret services
responsibilities in the 1995 death of judge Bernard Borrel
in Djibouti
, which was broadcast on May 17, 2005, was later removed from RFI's website for undisclosed reasons, possibly due to the intervention of Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh
.
On 21 October 2003, Jean Hélène
was reporting for RFI during the civil war in Ivory Coast when he was killed in Abidjan
by police Sergeant Théodore Séry Dago.
relay stations in France, and one shortwave
relay station in French Guyana. All the stations are owned and operated by the French telecom entity TDF.
ALLISS
is a rotatable antenna
system for high power shortwave radio broadcasting
.
Radio France
Radio France is a French public service radio broadcaster.-Mission:Radio France's two principal missions are:* To create and expand the programming on all of their stations; and...
by the Government of France
Government of France
The government of the French Republic is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic"...
, and replaced the Poste Colonial (created in 1931), Paris Mondial (1938), Radio Paris
Radio Paris
Radio Paris was a French radio broadcasting company best known for its Axis propaganda broadcasts in Vichy France during World War II.Radio Paris evolved from the first private radio station in France, called Radiola, founded by pioneering French engineer Émile Girardeau in 1922...
(1939), RTF Radio Paris (1945) and ORTF Radio Paris (1965). In 1986 a new law passed by the French Parliament allowed RFI to operate independently of Radio France.
RFI operates under the auspices and primary budget of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ), is France's foreign affairs ministry, with the headquarters located on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris close to the National Assembly of France. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the government of France is the cabinet minister responsible for...
. It broadcasts primarily in French, but also in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Kiswahili, Hausa
Hausa language
Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 25 million people, and as a second language by about 18 million more, an approximate total of 43 million people...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
and Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
. It also owns Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East
Radio Monte Carlo
Radio Monte Carlo is the name of six radio stations owned and managed by three different entities:*RMC Info is a French-speaking station, broadcasting in France and Monaco from Paris with some contributions from Monaco. Radio Monte-Carlo was one of 23 founding broadcasting organisations of the...
, which produces Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
programmes in Paris, and airs them from a transmitter in Cyprus to audiences across the Middle East and North Africa.
Radio France Internationale in English
One of the largest foreign language services is the English Service, aimed mainly at Africa. RFI broadcasts four hours of live morning news every day on its "Paris Live" programme. All of RFI's English broadcasts are available online and for download on the English service website. Information on frequencies for RFI in English can be found here.Incidents
On September 17, 2002, TogoTogo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
lese President Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Gnassingbé Eyadéma
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma , was the President of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005. He participated in two successful military coups, in January 1963 and January 1967, and became President on April 14, 1967...
tried to stop the broadcasting of an interview with one of his opponents, Agbéyomé Kodjo
Agbeyome Kodjo
Messan Agbéyomé Gabriel Kodjo is a Togolese politician who served as Prime Minister of Togo from 29 August 2000 to 27 June 2002.-Political career:...
, by phoning directly to the Elysée Palace
Élysée Palace
The Élysée Palace is the official residence of the President of the French Republic, containing his office, and is where the Council of Ministers meets. It is located near the Champs-Élysées in Paris....
. The interview was not censored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
by Jean-Paul Cluzel
Jean-Paul Cluzel
Jean-Paul Cluzel is a French government official and politician. Among other positions, he has served as inspector general of Finance, director of the Paris Opera, and CEO of Radio France Internationale and Radio France...
, RFI's CEO at the time, due to the coordinated intervention of the journalists' trade-unions. However, a report raising questions regarding the French secret services
Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure
The General Directorate for External Security is France's external intelligence agency. Operating under the direction of the French ministry of defence, the agency works alongside the DCRI in providing intelligence and national security, notably by performing paramilitary and counterintelligence...
responsibilities in the 1995 death of judge Bernard Borrel
Bernard Borrel
Bernard Borrel was a French magistrate in Djibouti. He died under mysterious circumstances on 19 October 1995.At the time of his death, Borrel was assigned to the Justice Ministry in Djibouti to review and adapt the French civil and penal codes to the Djiboutian justice system...
in Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
, which was broadcast on May 17, 2005, was later removed from RFI's website for undisclosed reasons, possibly due to the intervention of Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh
Ismail Omar Guelleh
Ismaïl Omar Guelleh is the President of Djibouti. He succeeded his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999. He is often referred to in the region by his initials 'IOG'....
.
On 21 October 2003, Jean Hélène
Jean Hélène
Jean Hélène was a French journalist specializing in Africa. He was working for Radio France Internationale in Ivory Coast when he was killed in Abidjan bypolice Sergeant Théodore Séry Dago...
was reporting for RFI during the civil war in Ivory Coast when he was killed in Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
by police Sergeant Théodore Séry Dago.
Podcasts
RFI offers a daily podcast in simple French, accessible via iTunes, named 'Journal en français facile'. http://www.rfi.fr/radiofr/podcast/journalFrancaisFacile.aspTransmission network
RFI uses 2 domestic shortwaveShortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
relay stations in France, and one shortwave
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
relay station in French Guyana. All the stations are owned and operated by the French telecom entity TDF.
- All RFI transmitters are fairly universally 500 kW, but some 250 kW are used in French Guyana.
- The technology used by France's domestic SW relay stations is ALLISSALLISSALLISS is a fully rotatable antenna system for high power shortwave radio broadcasting in the 6 MHz to 26 MHz range. An ALLISS module is a self contained shortwave relay station that is used for international broadcasting.- FAQ :...
at IssoudunIssoudunIssoudun is a commune in the Indre department in central France. It is also referred to as Issoundun, which is the ancient name.-History:...
(Indre). - The TDF relay station in French Guyana uses standard HRS type antennasHRS type antennasHRS type antennas are more or less the standard antenna used for long distance high power shortwave broadcasting .- History of HRS design :...
.
ALLISS
ALLISS
ALLISS is a fully rotatable antenna system for high power shortwave radio broadcasting in the 6 MHz to 26 MHz range. An ALLISS module is a self contained shortwave relay station that is used for international broadcasting.- FAQ :...
is a rotatable antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
system for high power shortwave radio broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
.