Content & Catalog
What to watch on franceinfo?
Content TypesLive TV · Documentaries · News · Originals
SubtitlesFrench
Public BroadcasterWorks with VPNUpdated June 8, 2026
Reviewed by Radek Vlcek · Affiliate DisclosureOur website contains affiliate links. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.
How to Watch franceinfo outside France: VPN Guide 2026
franceinfo was born in 2016 from a rare alliance: France’s four public-media pillars, France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde and the INA archive, pooled their newsrooms into one round-the-clock news channel. Nearly a decade on it runs hourly bulletins, long interviews and the data show L’info s’éclaire, and in June 2025 it moved to channel 16 of French television. The stream is free and ad-free. The snag abroad is licensing: the official france.tv player checks your location and stops the moment it sees a foreign IP. Watching franceinfo outside France hinges on one step.
That step is a VPN. It routes your connection through a server in France and gives you a French IP, so the player believes you never left Paris. With Surfshark you get the full live signal in up to 1080p plus the catch-up clips, whether you are an expat or learning French. The YouTube live travels worldwide, but only france.tv carries the complete channel. Setup takes minutes and the news stays free.
Free
Price
1
Country
1080p
Max quality
7 of 7
VPNs work
2-3 min
Ready in
Quick answer
Can you watch franceinfo outside France with a VPN?
Yes, with a VPN. The official franceinfo live player on france.tv targets just 1 country, France, so from elsewhere you need a French IP address. Connect Surfshark to a server in France, refresh the page, and the whole channel returns live in up to 1080p, still free and ad-free, exactly as it looks in Paris. The YouTube live is a global fallback.
VPN Compatibility
Best VPN for franceinfo
Tested weekly by our team. Green: works, amber: partial, red: blocked.
| VPN Service | Price | franceinfo | Tested | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SurfsharkBEST | From $1.78/mo | ✓ Works | June 13 | Try it |
 ExpressVPN | From $2.79/mo | ✓ Works | June 14 | Open |
 NordVPN | From $2.99/mo | ✓ Works | June 15 | Open |
 CyberGhost | From $1.75/mo | ✓ Works | June 14 | Open |
 IPVanish | From $2.19/mo | ✓ Works | June 9 | Open |
 ProtonVPN | From $3.59/mo | ✓ Works | June 9 | Open |
 Private Internet Access | From $1.79/mo | ✓ Works | June 11 | Open |
✓ WorksTested June 13
✓ WorksTested June 14
✓ WorksTested June 15
✓ WorksTested June 14
✓ WorksTested June 9
✓ WorksTested June 9
✓ WorksTested June 11
Tested on June 15, 2026 · 7 VPNs, 7 working · residential IP from France · franceinfo updates detection continuously, results may change.
Streaming service blocking your VPN? Just disconnect and hop onto a different server in the same country. Stick to the ones labeled “streaming” or “optimized” because they’re literally built for this.
How-to
How to Unblock franceinfo with a VPN
Takes about 2 minutes. Works on your phone, tablet, TV, PC, or laptop.
- Choose a reliable VPNPick a service with fast French servers like Surfshark, from $1.78. Free VPNs are throttled and france.tv rejects many of their address ranges.A 30-day money-back guarantee lets you test it risk-free.
- Connect to a server in FranceOpen the VPN app and connect to a server in France, ideally in Paris for low latency, then wait for the connection to confirm.A nearby city server means a smoother live stream.
- Open the live streamGo to franceinfo.fr or france.tv and start the direct. If the player will not load, clear the cookies and cache so the old location is forgotten.On a smart TV, set your app store region to France first.
- Press playWatch the news live in up to 1080p, or rewind through the past few hours. Everything runs free, with no ad breaks.Reconnect to the same server if the stream suddenly geo-blocks.
Ready to watch franceinfo without borders?
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Availability
Which countries is franceinfo available in?
franceinfo is only available in France. To access it from anywhere else, use a premium VPN.
Available in 1 country No VPN needed
Partially available in 2 countries VPN required
franceinfo also works in Belgium and in Switzerland, but with limited content compared to fully available countries. Surfshark unlocks full access.
Blocked in 191 countries VPN required
United StatesUnited KingdomAustraliaCanadaNew ZealandIrelandGermanyJapanIndiaNetherlandsSouth AfricaBrazil
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British Virgin Islands
BruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCambodiaCameroonCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCongoCongo (DRC)Costa RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandGabonGambiaGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHondurasHungaryIcelandIndonesiaIranIraqIsraelItalyJamaicaJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorth KoreaNorth MacedoniaNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalQatarRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSão Tomé and PríncipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSwedenSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-LesteTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTuvaluUAEUgandaUkraineUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnamYemenZambiaZimbabwefranceinfo is blocked in the United States, in the United Kingdom, in Australia, in Canada and in New Zealand, plus in 186 more countries. To access it, use a premium VPN like Surfshark.
Available
Partial
Blocked / unavailable
Last tested: June 3, 2026
Steer clear of free VPNs. Most of them actually collect and sell your data, lack proper security audits, and can even expose you to malware. They’re also useless for streaming. Platforms block them instantly, leaving you with more headaches than solutions. Stick to paid VPNs with verified audits, like Surfshark, if you want something that actually works.
About the platform
Who’s behind the service?
What is franceinfo
franceinfo is France’s public rolling-news channel, born in 2016 from an alliance of the country’s four public-media pillars: France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde and the INA archive. It streams live around the clock for free, with hourly bulletins, interviews and data-driven analysis, and since June 2025 it occupies channel 16 of French television. The official france.tv live player is geo-locked to just 1 country, France, so from abroad it is blocked. A VPN with a French IP address brings the full live stream back.
Company and history
Major changes
- franceinfo launched on 1 September 2016 on channel 27 as a joint project of France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde and the INA archive, France's first public rolling-news channel.
- The channel expanded to France's overseas territories, where on terrestrial TV it replaced France 24 and brought round-the-clock news closer to viewers across the seas.
- After the France Ô channel closed, franceinfo switched to high-definition broadcasting, sharply improving the picture of its live feeds and on-screen graphics.
- Editorial director Laurent Delpech was replaced by Muriel Pleynet after the channel's journalists passed a motion of no confidence, and she took over the newsroom.
- In the new terrestrial channel numbering, franceinfo took channel 16 from CNews on 6 June 2025 and rolled out a new grid with hourly bulletins and non-stop weekend live coverage.
- In early 2026 franceinfo posted some of its best audience shares to date, around 1.2 percent, confirming that the move to channel 16 and the new grid had landed with viewers.
Still can’t open franceinfo where you are?
Connect Surfshark, pick a supported country, and you’re streaming franceinfo in minutes, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Devices & Quality
Watch on all your devices
Supported devices
Video quality
1080pHDRDolby VisionDolby Atmos
Accessibility
Closed captions
Insider Tips
Tips & tricks you should know
4 tips from our franceinfo testing team · Updated June 3, 2026
- The france.tv live stream is geo-locked from abroad, so switch on a VPN with a French server, ideally in Paris, before you open the player.
- Watching is completely free, ad-free and needs no sign-up; a france.tv account only matters for extras, not for the live feed itself.
- The whole channel is in French only, with no foreign-language subtitles, so it suits expats and people learning French best.
- For a quick look the franceinfo YouTube live works worldwide without a VPN, but only france.tv carries the full channel with rewind.
Alternatives
Other services you can watch
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know before subscribing to franceinfo.
Yes, franceinfo is a public-service channel and watching it costs nothing. There is no subscription, no card and no account, and unlike private news channels it carries no ad breaks. You simply open franceinfo.fr or france.tv. From abroad just connect Surfshark to a French server first, otherwise the live player will not load.
The official france.tv live player targets only 1 country, France, and it checks your IP address. The moment it sees a foreign IP, it stops the feed. Connect Surfshark to a server in France, refresh the page, and the channel returns live as if you were in Paris. Smart DNS usually fails here, so rely on a VPN.
Not to watch the live stream. Open franceinfo.fr or france.tv and the direct starts straight away. A france.tv account only helps for extras like saving favourite shows. From abroad, though, the key step is putting Surfshark on a French server first, otherwise the player will not even start.
franceinfo is a pure news channel: hourly bulletins, a morning show, long interviews, debates and the data-driven L’info s’éclaire. Do not expect films or series, just round-the-clock French current affairs. For expats and French learners it is an ideal source of live speech. From abroad you unlock it all through Surfshark connected to France.
The channel runs live from six in the morning to midnight, and overnight it carries the international France 24 feed, so it effectively never stops. Since June 2025 it also runs non-stop live at weekends. From abroad, just connect Surfshark to a French server and you can watch the live feed at any hour.
You can watch franceinfo on the web, in the iOS and Android apps, on Samsung and LG TVs, through Android TV, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, and via Chromecast. On a smart TV abroad you may need to switch your app store region to France first so the france.tv app installs and Surfshark can unlock the live stream.
Using a VPN is legal in France and across most of the world, and watching free public-service news through one is not an offence. With Surfshark this is an ordinary private connection on a French IP address. You should still respect the france.tv terms, which are written for viewers based in France.
Most often france.tv spotted your real location from a stored cookie or an overloaded IP address. Clear the cookies, close the browser completely and reconnect Surfshark to a different French server, ideally in Paris. After switching servers the live player almost always comes back to life.
The live stream runs in up to 1080p with stereo sound. franceinfo offers no 4K or HDR tier, which keeps the bandwidth demand low. For a smooth live feed through Surfshark a stable line of roughly five to ten megabits per second is usually plenty. For news, fluidity matters more than a razor-sharp picture.
Both are French news channels, but BFM TV is a private, ad-funded commercial broadcaster, while franceinfo is public service, free and ad-free, run by France’s public-media group. franceinfo also leans on data shows and long interviews. Its live player is locked to France, so from abroad you need Surfshark on a French server.
For a quick look, yes: franceinfo streams live on YouTube too, and that travels worldwide without a VPN, with a 12-hour rewind. But the complete experience, with full rewind and every show, sits only on the france.tv player, which you unlock from abroad through Surfshark connected to a French server.
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