FIP

**FIP** is French public radio station owned by Radio France. The channel broadcasts in a wide range of music – classical, hip hop, jazz, chanson, rock, blues, world music – and minimal speech.

## History

The station was created on 5 January 1971 at 17:00 by the radio and television director **Roland Dhordain** and two producers of France Inter, **Jean Garretto** and **Pierre Codou**, who were known for their weekend programming: **TSF 71**. radio is broadcast over 514 m. (585 kHz) as an average wave in Paris, and the 90.35 MHz FM frequency used by France Inter in Paris, hence its name: **France Inter Paris** and its designation **FIP 514**. This is a new concept, although close to the former Paris-Inter show called ***Travaillez en musique***. It consists of a fluid and discrete background of light classical music, jazz, blues and popular music. Programming obeys three principles:

* The exclusive use of female voices.

* Comments are limited to practical information only.

* The programming is essentially musical.

* Diffusion of a few titles of information at 50 of each hour (to allow the interested listeners to pass on France Inter at the following time, for more details).

Moreover, the successive musical passages generally share in pairs an element of continuity which constitutes the discrete signature of the station, and whose discovery contributes to the charm.

Besides the programming, it is the tone of the animators that strikes: sweet and announcing the embarrassment of the circulation with humor and irony. So much so that the duet of comedians **Guy Bedos** and **Sophie Daumier** dedicates a sketch to this tone, followed a decade later by that of the Unknown in Free radios.

In 1972, it recovers the 90,35 in full frequency when France Inter passes on 87,8. The station spreads in the provinces (Lyon, Marseille, etc.) from 1974 onwards, with the music and newsletters being taken up with local animation and traffic and cultural information. The final P is then declined on the local initial: **FIM** (Marseille), **FIL** (Lille, Lorraine -Nancy then Metz- and Lyon), **FIB** (Bordeaux), **FIS** (Strasbourg), **FILa** (Cote d'Azur) and more. **FIP** accompanies the technical development of Radio France and goes successively to stereophony.

In 1975, **FIP** was chosen by **TDF** to sound the sights of the 3rd television station FR3. Every day from 2 pm to 6.20 pm, this showcase allows the station to be known by an audience that is not affected by radio broadcasting. Paradox of technique, a radio is known by a fixed image via television. This diffusion was nevertheless limited between 1976 and 1983, by leasing the network to TF1 pending the opening of its color network.

Having a niche as a service radio within the public service, **FIP** is little touched by the revolution of the French radio landscape from 1981. In the 1980s, Paris radio and its network of a dozen stations in regions are directed by **François Jouffa**.

In 1999, Plan Bleu launched by **Jean-Marie Cavada**, CEO of Radio France, seeks to reallocate the available frequencies between the local radios (France Bleu network), **Urgences**, **FIP** and Le Mouv'. As for **FIP**, only the stations making the audience are retained (Bordeaux 96.5 and 96.7, Nantes 95.7, Paris 105.1, Saint-Nazaire 97.2 and Strasbourg 92.3).

As for the frequencies of Lille (91,0), Lyon (87,8) and Marseilles (96,4 and 96,8), they now broadcast Le Mouv', while those of Metz (98,5 and 98, 8) and Nice (94.4, 94.8 and 103.8) are part of the France Bleu network. This measure dissatisfied the faithful who created associations to protest, and received the support of local elected representatives. Several events take place. For their part, the unions are worried about the consequences on the staff and strike on 24 May 2000, the day of the adoption of **Plan Bleu** by the board of directors of Radio France. The broadcasting of **FIP** by satellite and internet made the station again accessible to the neglected faithful.

In January 2011, the station ceased broadcasting on the AM band in Paris (585 kHz). As of 2007, a few new FM frequencies without a local office are open (Marseille 90.9, Montpellier 99.7, Rennes 101.2 and Toulouse 103.5) bringing the current network to ten frequencies.

From January 10 to 28, 2011, **FIP** celebrates its 40th anniversary with three weeks of public concerts from an ephemeral studio set up in the heart of Maison de Radio France, a 20-episode daily drama entitled ***Vous avez loupé Marie-Martine*** and a special website.

In December 2014, a dispatch from **AFP** says that **Mathieu Gallet**, CEO of Radio France plans to close **FIP**. On December 19, in an interview on **Web7Radio**, **Anne Sérode**, director of **FIP**, denies this statement.

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