February 1, 1944 : The Nazis Launch the World’s First All-News Radio Station in Paris

France Info was not the first continuous news radio station in France. A station broadcasting news every fifteen minutes, supplemented by short features, was already on the air a few months before the Liberation of Paris.

In mid-January 1944, the German propaganda services in Paris (Propaganda-Abteilung Frankreich) launched a new French-language radio station. The station was called L’Information permanente, and, as its name suggested, it was designed as an all-news service. The experiment was deemed successful, and the station officially began broadcasting on Tuesday, 1 February 1944.

It operated continuously from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. on the 206-metre wavelength, broadcasting from the Eiffel Tower transmitter. At its launch, its stated aim was simple: to provide news without commentary. The German authorities were evidently trying to win back listeners who had been put off by the highly ideological editorials and commentaries broadcast by Radio-Paris.

“A constantly updated audio newspaper”

The launch of the station was announced in Les Ondes, a weekly radio listings magazine:

“L’Information Permanente, which broadcasts continuously from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., provides information but does not comment on it. Through it, you will hear the latest news from around the world, race forecasts and results, reports from Parisian and French life, stock-market prices, theatre listings, fashion, cooking, women’s lifestyle features, industrial and economic news, National Lottery results, sports reports, forecasts and results, and more.

A direct reflection of international life, L’Information Permanente will keep you informed throughout the day. It is a genuine audio newspaper, constantly renewed with the latest news. To stay informed quickly and accurately in just fifteen minutes, turn on your radio set and listen to L’Information Permanente on the 206-metre wavelength. Don’t forget: L’Information Permanente, on 206 metres!”

News every fifteen minutes

The schedule featured news bulletins every quarter of an hour, along with a series of short segments—many recycled from Radio-Paris—covering sports, entertainment, fashion, women’s lifestyle, cooking, economic news, lottery results, horse-racing tips, and more.

The station’s studios were located at 114 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, in a building next door to Radio-Paris, which occupied the facilities of the former Poste Parisien. Its deputy editor-in-chief was Jean Champeau, then 27 years old. After the war, he was sentenced to five years in prison, a relatively light sentence secured in part thanks to testimony from a Resistance member who had infiltrated the station.

The main announcer was Jacques Piche, aged 26, who was later sentenced to 13 years of hard labour. He was assisted by Albin Ancelot, a former socialist trade unionist who would later receive a sentence of 12 years of hard labour.

The station, however, was launched at a time when electricity restrictions in Paris were becoming increasingly severe, and Parisians appear to have shown little interest in the experiment.

The schedule of France’s first continuous news radio station

The station broadcast continuously from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m., with numerous recurring segments throughout the day:

• “What you must not ignore”: daily at 7:28, 7:43, 7:58, 8:58, 9:28, 9:43, 14:28, 14:43, 14:58, 20:28, 20:43, 20:58, 00:28, 00:43 and 00:58.
• “What you can do today”: Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8:43, 9:58 and 15:43; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8:43 and 9:58.
• Paris theatre listings: daily at 11:13, 11:38, 12:43, 12:58, 18:28 and 18:43.
• Music-hall and cabaret programmes: daily at 11:43, 13:43 and 18:58.
• Concert and cinema listings: daily at 11:58, 13:58 and 19:13.
• Sports: Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 12:28, 19:43 and 21:13.
• Recipe of the day: daily at 10:58.
• Paris Stock Exchange prices: Monday to Friday at 13:28, 15:58, 17:58 and 21:28.
• Economic news: Monday to Saturday at 17:13, 18:13 and 21:58; Sunday at 21:58.
• Financial bulletin: Monday to Saturday at 19:28 and 21:43; Sunday at 18:13 and 19:28.
• Life in the provinces: daily at 16:13, 17:43 and 1:43.
• Life in Paris: daily at 17:28 and 1:28.
• Horse-racing news: Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8:28, 12:13 and 19:58.
• Next day’s Paris entertainment listings: daily at 23:13, 23:28, 23:43 and 23:58.
• “What you can do tomorrow”: daily at 1:13.
• “What you can listen to”: daily at 10:13, 10:28, 10:43, 16:28, 16:43, 16:58, 22:28, 22:43 and 22:58.
• Geopolitical news: Tuesday at 15:43, 19:43 and 21:13.
• Women and beauty: Wednesday at 15:43, 19:43 and 21:13.
• Fashion: Thursday at 15:43 and 19:58; Saturday at 15:58 and 17:58.
• Music news: Sunday at 15:28, 17:58 and 21:28.
• Industrial and commercial news: daily at 17:13 and 22:13.
• News and gardening: Sunday at 7:13 and 13:28.

The day after the D-Day landings, L’Information permanente began broadcasting around the clock. As electricity shortages intensified, however, it returned to time-slot programming before eventually disappearing in the final days of the Occupation. Its schedule continued to appear in collaborationist newspapers until the eve of the Liberation of Paris.