A new study has revealed significant disparities in the way the French media reports on environmental issues, with overall coverage remaining limited, particularly in France’s regional newspapers.
Environmental issues remain “under‑reported” in the French print media, although they attract slightly more attention than on television and radio, according to a new study by the Media Observatory on Ecology (Omé), cited by France Inter on Thursday.
In 2025, environmental topics accounted for around six percent of press coverage overall. The figure rises to just over eight percent in the national press – across daily newspapers and magazines – but falls to 4.6 percent in regional dailies. Audiovisual outlets trail slightly, at roughly five percent.
Print media, however, appear to provide more steady coverage. Unlike television and radio, which tend to focus on immediate events such as heatwaves or floods, newspapers are less driven by the news cycle and more likely to follow stories over time.
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Training and resources
Coverage varies significantly from one title to another. Among the strongest performers are Le Monde, Libération and La Croix. At Le Monde, for example, environmental issues feature in around nine percent of articles, compared with just 3 percent at the weekly Journal du Dimanche.
A marked divide also remains between national and regional outlets. Claire Morvan of the Omé observatory says some regional newsrooms are only beginning to strengthen their expertise.
“Several editorial teams have told us they are in the process of training their journalists, whereas the national press made its commitments a year or two ago,” she said.
“There are powerful lobbies and well-organised communicators in certain sectors. Covering these topics requires real expertise, which is why training remains such a key challenge,” particularly for regional titles.
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In-depth reporting still uneven
The study underlines the importance of more analytical reporting – articles that go beyond events to examine the causes, consequences and possible solutions to climate change.
Here, publications such as L’Humanité and Nouvel Obs stand out, while regional titles including La Dépêche du Midi, Le Télégramme and Corse-Matin fall behind. For Eva Morel of the Quota Climat association, this kind of journalism is essential.
“These articles connect what we observe with the underlying causes and offer concrete solutions,” she said. “That is exactly what has been shown to encourage action.”
Business dailies are among the most active in this area, with Les Echos and La Tribune at 14 and 21 percent respectively, leading the field, reflecting a more cross-cutting approach that integrates environmental questions across different sections.
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At the other end of the scale, the weekly news opinion magazine Marianne and Journal du Dimanche devote the least space to environmental topics with both under five percent in their coverage. In the regional press, coverage remains lower overall, although Nice-Matin, Var-Matin and Le Populaire du Centre stand out as relative exceptions.
The report also highlights the continued use of pejorative language in some outlets, citing terms such as “green ayatollah”, “punitive ecology” and “green Khmer”. Journal du Dimanche is identified as the most frequent user, followed by Marianne and Le Point.
The findings are based on real-time monitoring of 55 print titles, including national and regional newspapers, magazines and AFP, with more than 8,000 articles analysed each day, providing a detailed snapshot of how environmental issues are treated across the French press.
(with France Inter/France Info)
