# Clearing the Air: A Longitudinal Study of Air Pollution in the French Media

Oriana Gasperin, Laure Malleret, Raquel Bertoldo

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Oriana Gasperin, Laure Malleret, Raquel Bertoldo. Clearing the Air: A Longitudinal Study of Air Pollution in the French Media. 2026. hal-05461370

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# Clearing the Air :

## A Longitudinal Study of Air Pollution in the French Media

### Authors

Oriana Gasperin - Social Psychology Laboratory, Aix-Marseille University

Laure Malleret - Chemistry and Environment Laboratory, Aix-Marseille University

Raquel Bertoldo - Social Psychology Laboratory, Aix-Marseille University

### Corresponding Author

Oriana Gasperin

Email: oriana.gasperin@univ-amu.fr
Abstract

Air pollution is a major environmental and public health issue that has gradually attracted media attention over the past two decades. This longitudinal study examines how the French media represented pollution from 2004 to 2024, by analyzing a corpus of 1166 press articles from national and local media with various political orientations. Using a computer-assisted content analysis, we identified distinct phases of media coverage that describe an evolution from an initially scientific and health-focused discourse, to a more political, legislative, and territorialized discursive debate. Our results reveal that air pollution has evolved from a technical environmental problem to a controversial public object marked by legal action, local governance debates and citizen mobilization. This study contributes to understanding the social construction of environmental risks in media discourse, and highlights the role of the press in public perception and political debate.

Keywords: air pollution, press analysis, social representations, media, France.
Introduction

Air pollution represents one of the greatest environmental risks to human health (WHO, 2024). In 2019, 99% of the global population lived in areas where air pollution levels exceeded the thresholds recommended by the WHO. Whether indoor or outdoor, air pollution is associated with 6.7 million premature deaths each year (WHO, 2024). Despite its severity, this health risk remains omnipresent and invisible to individuals, who have very little control over their exposure. Indeed, the policies and actions of local, national, and regional decision-makers have a significantly greater impact on population exposure to this risk (WHO, 2024). At the global, European, and local levels, various policies are implemented to reduce pollutant emissions and improve air quality (e.g., WHO air quality guidelines).

Citizens have only limited direct access to the actual state of the environment and the risks it entails. Much of their information about such risks comes from official reports and news articles, often accessed through social media. Media therefore play a crucial role in making these issues concrete and visible for local populations, acting as a source of information and opinion on both environmental questions and the state of the local environment (Carvalho, 2007; Castro & Mouro, 2011). According to Carvalho (2007, p. 223), "the public's perception and attitudes towards these matters are largely influenced by the representations of scientific knowledge conveyed by the press and other mass media." Indeed, the media do not merely report facts; they construct *interpretive frameworks* for events and shape public debate. In doing so, they contribute to the symbolic construction of worlds in which certain issues are made visible and legitimate, while others are obscured or excluded. This framing power gives media the capacity to influence and legitimize environmental topics and to shape their collective representations.

As a result, numerous studies have examined how environmental issues are portrayed in the media, such as climate change (Jaspal & Nerlich, 2012), biodiversity conservation and
protected areas (Castro et al., 2012), or coastal flooding (Lelaurain et al., 2021). These studies reveal discursive dynamics that evolve over time (Downs, 1972; Lelaurain et al., 2021; Uzelgun & Castro, 2014), vary by scale (global vs. local; (Castro et al., 2012)), and differ based on the type of journalistic strategy adopted (Boykoff & Boykoff, 2007).

Like many environmental phenomena, air pollution is a complex scientific object involving scientific, legal, political, and social dimensions. Its reality, difficult for individuals to perceive directly, is largely constructed through communication channels such as the media, which are key in shaping how the issue is socially understood and, consequently, perceived by the public (Castro & Gomes, 2005; Uzelgun & Castro, 2014). However, relatively few studies have examined the socially shared and mediated images of air pollution. It is thus essential to address this gap by examining how air pollution is portrayed in French media in order to understand how this invisible and complex issue becomes tangible, visible, and meaningful for the public.

In this context, we conducted two studies aimed at analyzing how media representations of air pollution in France evolved between 2004 and 2024, taking into account the period, level of focus (national or local), and the political orientation of the media outlets. These studies are grounded in psychosocial theories of environmental change, particularly constructivist frameworks such as social representations theory (Moscovici, 2008). First, we present research using media analysis to demonstrate its relevance to our investigation. Second, we draw on studies that employ a longitudinal approach to media analysis, integrating two frameworks: the media issue-attention cycle (Downs, 1972) and the temporal approach to psychosocial processes of social change (Castro, 2012).
Media and environmental communication

Media do not merely report facts, they actively shape social reality through editorial choices, such as deciding whether or not to cover a given topic, determining the degree of attention it receives, and selecting who is granted a voice (Carvalho, 2007, p. 223). These discursive decisions are influenced, among other factors, by the ideological orientation of the media outlet (Carvalho, 2007). Media ideology shapes both the interpretation of scientific facts and the legitimacy of experts or counter-experts, as well as how scientific discourse is translated into calls for action (Carvalho, 2007).

Thus, media function as “a powerful actor in the production, exchange, and dissemination of ideas within the scientific, political, and public spheres” (Boykoff & Boykoff, 2004, p. 12). According to these authors, journalistic norms have, for instance, greatly contributed to the otherwise unjustified salience of non-scientific arguments.

The discursive content and social representations of environmental issues in media also vary according to the level of focus (national versus local, for example). Research by Castro and colleagues (2012) describes the press as a mediator between ‘local’ and ‘national’ levels in shaping public appropriation of environmental laws. On one hand, national newspapers tend to align more closely with official narratives, reflecting the perspectives of decision-making centers and often overlooking practical challenges tied to law implementation. On the other hand, regional press tends to emphasize the everyday difficulties brought about by legal changes and focuses more on their concrete, local implications.

These factors contribute to orienting media discourse in ways that either reinforce or challenge the *status quo*. As such, media serve not only as disseminators but also as political
actors in environmental decision-making. They are spaces where debates, expressions of opinion, and the construction of social realities unfold (Castro, 2012).

Temporal Approach of Social Changes

Media analysis is a valuable tool for understanding how the coverage of air pollution has evolved over time, and how it reflects broader dynamics of social and institutional change. It allows us to examine, for instance, publication trends, the framing of environmental laws at national or local levels, and the emergence of controversies around air pollution. In this section, we introduce two complementary approaches that examine how media discourse emerges and shifts over time: the media issue-attention cycle (Downs, 1972) and the temporal approach to psychosocial processes of social change (Castro, 2012).

Downs (1972) proposed a temporal model known as the *issue-attention cycle*, which describes the fluctuating media attention given to societal problems over time. According to this model, the amount of media coverage a topic receives is not necessarily determined by its inherent importance, but rather by the interaction between media and the public, often structured around so-called ‘crisis cycles’. Downs identifies crisis cycles as being composed of five stages:

1. **The Pre-problem Stage**, in which the issue exists but remains largely invisible to the public, although some experts or minority groups may already be concerned.

2. **The Alarmed Discovery and Euphoric Enthusiasm**, where sudden public awareness arises, often accompanied by optimism regarding the possibility of a quick resolution.

3. **The Realization of the Cost of Significant Progress**, during which people begin to grasp the social and financial sacrifices required to address the issue.
4. **The Gradual Decline of Intense Public Interest**, marked by discouragement, avoidance, or fatigue.

5. **The Post-problem Stage**, in which the topic receives occasional media attention, but retains a higher profile than in the initial stage due to institutional measures that have been implemented.

While Downs' model captures the rise and fall of media attention, it does not directly offer an interpretive framework for understanding social change. This is where the temporal approach to psychosocial processes of social change developed by Castro (2012) offers valuable insights. This perspective provides a theoretical lens to analyze how environmental and societal transformations affect social norms, group relations, and public discourse (Bertoldo & Castro, 2019; Castro, 2012). It highlights the *collective* nature of environmental responsibility and frames change as a socially negotiated process.

In contrast to more individually focused phenomena, shared understandings of environmental issues rely heavily on public resonance and institutional engagement. Media analysis enables us to observe how air pollution evolves as a social issue, particularly in relation to various phases of social and institutional change. According to Castro and Mouro (2011, p. 1), “a large part of these changes will likely be carried out by multilevel governance processes and tools that are now commonly used in environmental protection, such as global treaties, national laws, and, in turn, local-level implementation”. Global treaties establish broad, consensual guidelines, which are then translated into national legislation and eventually into local policies, though the interpretation of these directives always remains contingent on local priorities and struggles (Von Stein, 2008). National and local actors serve as intermediaries in this process, adapting general frameworks into concrete actions that shape the behavior of communities and local groups (Castro & Batel, 2008). This multilevel
governance model is especially relevant for decisions related to climate change, where
innovations at the international or national level do not always translate into local action (Von
Stein, 2008).

Social change often begins with grassroots or minority initiatives in a bottom-up
process (Douglas & Wildavsky, 1982; Laessoe, 2007). A clear example of this is the
legalization of same-sex marriage in France. Initially championed by activist groups and
citizens advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights, the issue gradually moved from the margins to the
mainstream. Once the issue attracted widespread attention and gained legitimacy, an
institutionalization phase began, culminating in the 2013 law that granted same-sex couples
the right to marry and adopt children. This stage was marked by political and societal debate.
The final phase involved the societal diffusion of the new norms, during which individuals
and communities began to internalize and respond to the changes, sometimes with resistance
(Castro & Mouro, 2011). The public debates surrounding same-sex marriage contributed to
broadening social norms related to family and parenthood.

These frameworks demonstrate how media analysis can serve as a powerful tool to
capture the evolution of public debates on specific issues (Jaspal & Nerlich, 2012; Lelaurain
et al., 2021), to compare national and local media coverage (Castro et al., 2012), and to
examine how collective meaning-making unfolds over time (Lelaurain et al., 2021). By
conducting a longitudinal media analysis, we aim to better understand the interplay between
discursive developments in the press and broader socio-political transformations surrounding
air pollution.
Synthesis and Studies Overview

Air pollution is an environmental issue whose public understanding largely depends on the media. These outlets contribute to its social construction and significantly shape how citizens perceive it (Castro & Gomes, 2005; Uzelgun & Castro, 2014). As a health risk that is both omnipresent and invisible to the senses, air pollution is difficult for individuals to detect directly. This makes the study of its social construction essential to understanding how collective awareness and public decision-making processes develop in response. The sensory invisibility of air pollution enhances the media's key role in making the issue visible, by providing it with a concrete, socially constructed image that can trigger public reactions.

Analyzing media content thus offers a way to examine the longitudinal relationship between political decisions and the social construction of the health, economic, and legislative challenges posed by air pollution. Given the relative scarcity of research on the media discourse of air pollution, this study aims to understand how this complex environmental topic becomes tangible and comprehensible to the public through media discourse.

This article proposes an analysis of the evolution of media representations of air pollution in France over a 20-year period (2004–2024), with particular attention to the time period, scale of coverage (national vs. local), and political orientation of media outlets.

**Study 1** investigates the evolution of the number of articles published on air pollution in five French national and regional newspapers between 2004 and 2024. It explores how this topic has been constructed in the media by examining the frequency and timing of publications and identifying the different stages of its emergence in the media space (based on Downs, 1972, and Castro, 2012).
**Study 2** focuses on the discursive content associated with the different time periods identified in Study 1. It also examines this content in relation to the geographical scale (national vs. local) and the political orientation of the newspapers.

# Study 1

## Summary, specific goals and expectation

This first study aims to describe how the number of articles published in France on the topic of air pollution evolved between 2004 and 2024. A longitudinal approach enables us to examine how media attention toward air pollution has shifted over time, identifying phases of intensification and decline in coverage (Downs, 1972). This method also allows us to connect peaks in media attention with phases of risk amplification (Kasperson et al., 1988), during which the social representation of air pollution as a public risk is intensified through communication dynamics.

The overall objective of this study is to better understand how air pollution has become a concrete object of representation and a perceived risk among the general public. In other words, we seek to examine how air pollution emerged as a topic within the media landscape, and how media attention toward this issue has evolved over time.

## Method

We selected four French newspapers available through the Europresse database (L'Humanité, Le Monde, Le Figaro, La Provence), along with one additional outlet (La Marseillaise), for which articles were retrieved directly from its online archives. The sample was chosen to reflect diversity of geographical representation (local vs. national press) and the overall political orientation of the outlet (right vs. left-wing) (Table 1). Using both the Europresse
database and *La Marseillaise*'s online archives, we selected all articles published between 2004 and 2024 that included the keywords "air pollution" and/or "atmospheric pollution".

<caption>**Table 1.**</caption>

*Criteria for news outlet choice.*

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>Left-wing</th><th>Centre</th><th>Right-wing</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>Regional press</th><td><i>La Provence</i></td><td></td><td><i>La Marseillaise</i></td></tr><tr><th>National press</th><td><i>L'Humanité</i></td><td><i>Le Monde</i></td><td><i>Le Figaro</i></td></tr></tbody></table>

**Results**

This keyword-based search yielded a total of 4,902 articles. Figure 1 illustrates the distribution of article frequency over time between 2004 and 2024. The lowest number of articles was published in 2006 (69 articles), while the highest numbers were recorded in 2019 and 2022 (415 articles each).
<caption>Figure 1.</caption>

*Frequency Distribution of Articles Related to Air Pollution*

<figure><img src="image_2.png" /></figure>

We can distinguish three major successive phases in the media coverage of air pollution. First, between 2004 and 2010, air pollution attracted little media attention and was mainly associated with other environmental issues such as heatwaves. Scientists began to focus on atmospheric pollution around airports following the catastrophic 2003 heatwave and criticized overly lax European Commission regulations regarding fine particulate matter concentrations. In 2008, the European Union adopted legislation aimed at improving ambient air quality and required member states to reduce exposure levels to fine particulate matter, especially those emitted by diesel engines in heavy goods vehicles and buses. This period can be characterized as the ‘pre-problem stage’ (Downs, 1972) or the ‘emergence phase’ (Castro, 2012).

Between 2011 and 2017, media attention to air pollution gradually increased. A first peak occurred in 2011, when the European Commission took legal action against France before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to comply with EU air quality standards. Over the years, media coverage intensified alongside alarming scientific studies: for example, in 2013, research revealed that one-third of French schoolchildren were exposed to pollution levels exceeding WHO and ANSES recommendations, and the WHO
classified outdoor air pollution as a confirmed human carcinogen that same year. This period
also saw the implementation of measures such as the ban on highly polluting vehicles in Paris
in 2016, accompanied by growing citizen mobilization (e.g., ten families filed a lawsuit
against the French state for failure to act in the same year). This period corresponds to the
“alarmed discovery stage” (Downs, 1972) or the “institutionalization phase” (Castro, 2012),
marked by media focus on legislative innovations and health risks related to air pollution.

From 2018 to 2024, there was a significant increase in media attention, particularly in
2018 and 2019. This peak coincided with the European Commission's 2019 decision to again
bring France before the CJEU for non-compliance with air quality standards. This led to
France's condemnation in 2020 for failing to fulfill obligations under the 2008 Air Quality
Directive. This period is associated with the “generalization phase” (Castro, 2012),
characterized by intense media attention and significant legal actions.

Media attention dropped in 2020, likely due to the COVID-19 health crisis, which dominated
media coverage. From 2021 onwards attention resurged, coinciding with the French Council
of State's historic decision to impose a 10-million-euro penalty on the state for failing to
combat air pollution. Finally, in 2023 and 2024, a decline in media interest was observed.
This phase can be considered the “post-problem stage” (Downs, 1972), with waning media
attention that nevertheless remains higher than during the problem's emergence.

Discussion

This initial analysis highlights a phased evolution of media attention to air pollution between
2004 and 2024, showing emergence, alarm, institutionalization, and finally decline phases.
Beyond these quantitative fluctuations, however, questions remain about content: What types
of arguments are mobilized, and which dimensions of the problem are emphasized?
To address these questions, a content analysis study was conducted to more closely examine
the evolution of social discourse surrounding air pollution in the French press.

Study 2

The analysis presented above reveals distinct phases of media interest around air pollution, which precede or follow political events, reports, or decisions. But what links can be drawn between these phases of attention and the discourses about atmospheric pollution as constructed and relayed by different types of media (Jaspal & Nerlich, 2012).

Summary, specific goals and expectation

This study aims to describe the evolution of public discourse related to air pollution, focusing on the content and arguments advanced during these different phases. Various events, local or international, shape public discourse and highlight specific aspects of the issue. In other words, air pollution is not perceived or discussed the same way before and after a risk event becomes socially salient.

From the perspective of Social Representations Theory (Moscovici, 2008), only
through certain events (scientific, legal, or political) does a risk become sufficiently salient to
be collectively grasped and transformed into a shared social reality. This process marks the
objectification of the problem, that is, its formation within social thought. To better
understand this process, a second study was conducted focusing on media content analysis. It
aims to explore how discourse about air pollution has been constructed over time.
## Method

We sought to explore the discursive content associated with the different time periods identified in the first study, as well as according to geographic scale (national or local) and the political orientation of the newspaper. Articles from Study 1 (N = 4,902) were here reviewed in relation to the centrality of the air pollution issue: only articles explicitly dealing with air pollution were retained (1,166 articles), articles with only allusive references to air pollution were excluded. We then created a corpus containing the full text of each article, along with metadata describing qualitative characteristics of these texts (Reinert, 1986).

## Data analysis

Considering the size of the corpus we favored an automatic approach to data analysis. The Descending Hierarchical Classification (IRaMuTeQ software), or Reinert's method (1983, 1986) describes commonly repeated patterns within the discourse. These most common phrases or ideas are grouped together as part of a same *class*, which is then associated with metainformation about its context of production (i.e. from which period of time is this discourse most typical, or whom most commonly talks about it). According to Ratinaud (2015), these classes or lexical worlds are expressions of social representations. More precisely, these lexical worlds describe “the interaction between lexicons, subjects, and contexts” (Ratinaud, 2015, p. 59).

The result of this descending hierarchical classification is presented as a dendrogram (see Figure 2), which allows visualization of the relationships between the different identified classes and the discourses they either group together, or oppose. Each word is associated with a chi-square value, which measures the strength of the association between that word and a given class by comparing its observed frequency to the expected frequency if the data were randomly distributed. The greater the difference between the observed and expected
frequency, the higher the chi-square value. This makes it possible to identify the most typical
words of each class, in other words, those that most clearly define the lexical world of the
class.

## Results

The descending hierarchical classification (see Figure 2) distributed 16,144 text segments into
five distinct lexical classes, grouped into three opposing sub-sets:

1. Scientific and health discourse (2004-2017)

2. Political discourse and Public Action (2018-2024)

2.1. European level

2.2. Local level

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 2**

Result of a Descending Hierarchical Classification: Content Divisions, Metadata, and Most Representative Words ($\chi^2$, *p* < 0.001) Associated with Each Class</figcaption></figure>
We first observe a core opposition between a scientific and health discourse and a political discourse centred on public action. Within this second sub-dimension, a new opposition arise between a European level and a local, territorialised level. Finally, at the local scale, a last opposition emerges between a register of mobilization and a register of restriction. We present the results following these three sub-sets, in order to reflect both the logic of class opposition revealed by the analysis and the temporal evolution of media coverage of air pollution. The italicised words refer to the most characteristic terms identified by the descending hierarchical classification.

# 1. Scientific and health discourse (2004-2017)

This first sub-set, which we refer to as **Scientific and health discourse**, is composed of two classes: **Techno-scientific risk description** (21.6% of the corpus) and **Medical health risk description** (24.2% of the corpus). This sub-set is structured around a scientific and health-oriented discourse corresponding to the *emergence phase of the risk*. The challenge of this period, particularly between 2004 and 2010, is to describe the risk, measure it, and detail its harmful effects on health. This epidemiological description also appears during the 2011–2017 period, when the risk and its severity for human health are especially emphasised.

The **Techno-scientific risk description** class includes 3,484 text segments (21.58% of the corpus) and is associated with the **2004–2010** period ($\chi^2 = 18.07$). It is linked to *national newspapers* ($\chi^2 = 13.59$), particularly *Le Monde* ($\chi^2 = 23.86$) and *Le Figaro* ($\chi^2 = 3.7$).

The **Medical health risk description** class includes 3,903 text segments (24.18% of the corpus) and is associated with the **2004–2010** period ($\chi^2 = 40.52$) and the **2011–2017** period ($\chi^2 = 9.58$). It is strongly associated with *national newspapers* ($\chi^2 = 293.86$), especially *Le Figaro* ($\chi^2 = 481.96$).
The **Techno-scientific risk description** class is organised around scientific discourses aiming to describe air pollution and its emission sources, reflecting the emergence of this issue in the media. Air pollution is described as a phenomenon resulting from the excessive presence of harmful substances in the atmosphere, such as *carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and fine particulate matter*. In particular, *fine particles* are designated by the term *PM10*, as they have a *diameter smaller than* 10 micrometres. The *concentration* of these pollutants is measured in *micrograms per cubic metre* (µg/m³).

Secondly, this class includes discourses focused on air pollution *thresholds* and *recommendations* issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), highlighting the health dangers of exceeding these limits. For example, the small size of *fine particles* (also referred to as *dust*) allows them to *penetrate* the body through the respiratory tract, making them *hazardous* to health.

The **Medical health risk description** class is organised around discourses detailing the various *health risks* associated with *exposure* to air pollution. Air is described as *bad* and *polluted*, particularly in *urban areas*, and *breathing* it is considered *toxic*, contributing to *premature deaths* and reduced *life expectancy*. *Long-term exposure* is associated with *increased risks of developing lung diseases* or *suffering strokes*. A specific population, *children*, is depicted as especially *sensitive* and *vulnerable* to pollution. Other discourses refer to *pregnant women* and the risks of in-utero exposure to polluted air. These discourses draw upon *scientific studies* and *articles published in peer-reviewed journals*.

Over time, these *studies* aim to *demonstrate, confirm, and substantiate* the medical risk associated with air pollution. Early discourses revolve around debates and questions regarding the real or presumed risk of fine particles, which later evolve into assertions attesting to the health dangers of atmospheric pollution. These studies originate from *research institutes* such as *INVS, CNRS, and INSERM*.
## 2. Political discourse and Public Action (2018-2024)

This second sub-set highlights a divide in terms of level of action and type of intervention: on one side, European regulation, and on the other, the territorial appropriation of these regulations through local governance. At the European level, the discourse draws on a legal and institutional register: air pollution is addressed through the lens of compliance with legislated standards, notably via litigation between the French State and the European Union. At the local level, discourse is anchored in territorial and collective issues, with the concrete implementation of European norms and the development of local initiatives.

### 2.1. European level

This class comprises 1,916 text segments (11.87% of the corpus) and is associated with the 2018-2024 period ($\chi^2 = 110.78$). It is linked to *national newspapers* ($\chi^2 = 92.84$), particularly *Le Monde* ($\chi^2 = 136.69$) and *L'Humanité* ($\chi^2 = 46.07$).

This class is organised around discourses focusing on legal cases and trials relating to air pollution in France, corresponding to the *institutionalisation phase of the risk*. These condemnations stem both from pressure exerted by European institutions (e.g., Court of Justice of the European Union) and from actions brought by citizen associations and families acting as civil parties. This class reflects the institutionalisation of air pollution as a risk, characterised by political action through regulation by European authorities. The texts mainly address the *French State's condemnations* by the *European Court of Justice* and the *Conseil d'État* for *failing to comply* with *EU directives*. There are also discourses about families who sued the *State* for *failing to guarantee* clean air, leading *courts* to recognise a causal link between *State* negligence and the *harm suffered*. Additional discourses refer to various *legal cases*:
– the *Dieselgate* scandal involving *Volkswagen*, which fraudulently bypassed
*European standards*;

– the *trial* of a *cruise ship captain* prosecuted for air pollution and *non-compliance*
*with regulations*;

– the *Aubier affair*, in which a scientist was accused of concealing ties with Total
during a parliamentary inquiry into the economic costs of air pollution.

**2.2. Local level**

This sub-set, which we refer to as **Local level**, is composed of two classes: **Local mobilization** (24.2% of the corpus) and Local restrictions (17.9% of the corpus). It centres on a territorialised and often contentious discourse corresponding to the *generalisation phase of the risk*.

The **Local restrictions** class includes 2,892 text segments (17.91% of the corpus) and is associated with the 2018–2024 period ($\chi^2$ = 10.51). It is linked to local newspapers ($\chi^2$ = 13.38), particularly *La Marseillaise* ($\chi^2$ = 5.59), *La Provence* ($\chi^2$ = 6.82), and also *L'Humanité* ($\chi^2$ = 4.01). The **Local mobilization** class includes 3,949 text segments (24.46% of the corpus) and is the only class not associated with a specific time period. It is strongly linked to local newspapers ($\chi^2$ = 604.63), especially *La Provence* ($\chi^2$ = 382.60) and *La Marseillaise* ($\chi^2$ = 149.41).

The **Local mobilization** class is organised around discourses describing the role of
local *associations* such as *AirParif* or *AtmoSud*, responsible for *monitoring air quality* using
*sensors*. These organisations conduct studies in *public buildings* and carry out *awareness
campaigns* in *schools*. Students, and *citizens* more broadly, are depicted as *actors* to be
involved in participatory schemes on *air quality* through *citizen workshops*.
The **Local restrictions** class is organised around discourses relating to the implementation of measures or *restrictions* concerning *transport* and *vehicle emissions*, especially *private cars* described as overly *polluting*. Discourses refer to Paris, its *metropolitan area*, the *ring road*, and its mayor Anne *Hidalgo*, but also *Marseille*, *Lyon*, *Grenoble*, *Aix-en-Provence*, *Strasbourg*, and *Rouen*. Alternative *transport modes* are mentioned, such as *public transport*, *carpooling*, *bicycle lanes*, and *walking*, along with proposals to make some of these modes *free* of charge.

Regarding *restrictions*, discourses highlight the introduction of *Low Emission Zones* (LEZ) to reduce CO₂ emissions in *metropolitan areas*. Other measures include *speed limit reductions*, *traffic restrictions* for specific vehicle categories based on *vignettes*, and *alternate-day driving schemes*. These policies aim to address *ecological transition* goals and the urgency of *reducing* air pollution levels. However, the class also contains highly contentious discourses about the LEZs, criticised as disconnected from health emergencies and discriminatory against low-income households, which has hindered their implementation.

Transport regulation policies thus crystallise tensions between health protection and individual freedoms, and between global directives and local application.

This sub-dimension highlights the power relations structuring the issue of air pollution: it shows how European requirements translate into concrete measures that are experienced and debated at the local level. These measures generate controversy, both regarding their legitimacy and their practical implementation. Air pollution thus emerges as a complex territorial issue, where concrete actors organise themselves, whether to advocate for clean air and, more broadly, environmental justice, or to develop forms of citizen monitoring.
## General discussion

Air pollution today represents one of the greatest risks to both the environment and public health. Because this risk is invisible to individuals, their perception and understanding of it depend less on its physical properties than on the ways it is represented and mediated. As central communication channels in the public sphere, media can amplify or attenuate the perception of environmental risks (Kasperson et al., 1988). Indeed, media communications are not neutral; they influence the understanding of risk and the relationships individuals maintain with their environment (Castro & Mouro, 2011).

These two studies have described how issues related to air pollution have been constructed over time and how they have been conveyed and debated in the French public sphere. The textual analysis of 1,166 press articles revealed that the issue of air pollution has evolved from being publicized primarily through a scientific lens to being constructed as a social and institutionalized concern. This discursive evolution unfolds along a clear temporal trajectory.

Firstly, during a period of low publication from 2004 to 2017, communications emphasized objective risk and health indicators. The discursive contents reflected an essentially objective and expert-based treatment of pollution. The lexicon used (e.g., *fine particles, dioxide, study, respiratory disease*) indicates a framing centered on risk assessment, health effects, and scientific knowledge production. This framing is mainly carried by national newspapers ranging from moderate (Le Monde) to conservative (Le Figaro), reflecting a desire to inform based on established and measurable data. In this context, air pollution is presented as a technical and health issue, still marginal in political debates or citizen mobilization. This period can be described as a phase of emergence (Castro, 2012) or a pre-problem phase (Downs, 1972).
From 2011 onwards, and more visibly between 2018 and 2024, a turning point emerges as the French state is confronted with its inaction through European fines and citizens-led lawsuits. During this period, media interest increased (as evidence by a greater number of publications), accompanied by a discursive evolution toward more political, judicial, and controversial framing. This shift is visible in the classes *European sanctions and regulation, Transportation and Restriction Policies and Collective action and local project for air quality*. The *European sanctions and regulation* class highlights the growing judicialization of air pollution, reflecting the increasing accountability of institutional actors, particularly the French State, in light of European injunctions on air quality. This class illustrates a shift from scientific expertise toward legal and political aeras, showing that pollution is now also presented as a form of political inaction subject to sanctions. This period corresponds to a phase of institutionalization (Castro, 2012) or to an alarmed discovery phase (Downs, 1972).

Finally, the discourse becomes characterized by conflicts surrounding the implementation of European directives at the local level. The classes *Transportation and Restriction policies and Collective action and local project for air quality* simultaneously signal an amplification of local governance issues. Pollution becomes a matter of local conflicts tied to car traffic regulation policies (low emission zones, Crit'Air stickers), which the media often portray as restrictive or discriminatory toward the most disadvantaged populations. The lexical field combines technical terms with citizen-oriented references (e.g., association, project, monitoring, adaptation), suggesting media coverage that blends expertise, local experiences, and political demands. Following the institutionalization of air pollution as a public problem, media discourse no longer focuses primarily on the health risk, but rather on the territorial challenges of aligning local practices with European regulatory requirements.
The role of the media in the symbolic and political construction of air pollution

Through their discourses, the media can contribute to the dissemination of the dominant ideology surrounding air pollution, by constructing information in line with dominant groups and beliefs (Maeseele & Raeijmaekers, 2017), rather than foregrounding the structural causes and power relations underlying this environmental issue. As Pierre Bourdieu argue in *On Television* (1996), the media do not merely reflect reality; they actively construct it through processes of selection and framing, thereby producing meanings that may not correspond to reality itself. This capacity to “*hide by showing*” is particularly salient in the case of air pollution.

Air pollution constitutes a chronic and invisible risk, which is therefore especially prone to symbolic minimization or depoliticization. Portraying air pollution in the media without highlighting its underlying mechanisms, main responsible actors, or concrete health consequences in the present effectively renders this risk insignificant, or assigns it a distorted image that does not correspond to scientific reality. These mechanisms are all the more consequential given that air pollution is a long-term and systemic risk. Unlike environmental disasters that may be spectacular and immediately perceptible, air pollution is characterized by its chronic nature and everyday imperceptibility, affecting individuals' health over the long term.

In our analysis, we observe episodic media coverage focused on pollution peaks, alongside an emphasis on local controversies at the expense of scientific knowledge or structural analyses of the causes of air pollution. Such mechanisms contribute to the naturalization of pollution as an inevitable risk, rather than as the outcome of specific political decisions. It is precisely for this type of issue, one that individuals can neither directly see nor feel, that the role of the media in structuring social representations becomes essential.
Conclusion

The study of media representation of air pollution through this press analysis reveals a marked
evolution in the journalistic framing of this environmental risk. From 2004 to 2024, media
discourse progressively shifted from a scientific and health register, supported by technical
data and health findings, toward a more political, legal, and territorialized register, strongly
invested by local actors. This evolution reflects not only a social amplification of the risk in
the public space (Kasperson et al., 1988) but also a thematic shift in the mediators of
environmental discourse. While initially major national media framed pollution as a matter of
expertise, media now employ a more conflictual, embodied, and situated framing. The
temporal and political structuring of discourse thus shows that air pollution, initially treated as
a technical issue, has gradually been constructed as a controversial public problem, marked by
tensions between economic interests, citizen rights, and territorial inequalities. Further studies
could involve field-based investigations of how individuals concretely position themselves in
relation to air pollution, in order to examine the extent to which the identified media
discourses are translated at the psychosocial level. We could also test, through surveys and
experimental designs, the role of neoliberal ideologies in the way individuals perceive air
pollution, assess its severity, and judge the legitimacy of structural responses, in order to
better understand how these ideological frameworks shape risk perception and the
acceptability of deeper social transformations.
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