Almost all French people have a smartphone, and it is their preferred device for accessing news. This digital consumption has grown very strongly over the last decade, both in terms of income and consumption, so much so that newspapers themselves have experienced an unprecedented increase in digital reading between 2020 and 2021. This phenomenon can undoubtedly be explained by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has had a profound impact on the consumption habits of the French, especially digital habits. In 2021, regional and local news magazines are almost exclusively read via digital format, except for a few.
Online press can be accessed both directly on websites and via applications dedicated to them. The sports magazine L'Equipe tops the ranking for websites and applications dedicated to sports news in France, while Boursorama and Capital.fr share first place for economic and legal news for apps and websites respectively.
Access to news online is another important topic regarding when it comes to digital newspapers. Indeed, one of the numerous advantages of digital technology is the constant access to a news flow that is updated in real time. Whether on mobile or tablet, consumers see this as a reliable source of information that is always available at their fingertips.
However, consumption of newspapers and magazines online is not without its pitfalls despite its convenience. The reliability of the information found online can be difficult to assess and can have dire consequences. As of 2022 sept percent of French people came across disinformation in the last week "very often".
