How to Distribute a Press Release in France
Last Updated on 9 September 2026 by Francois Marsteau
You do not need a French subsidiary, a French agency or a French press officer to reach French newsrooms. You need the release in French, a list built for your subject, and someone accountable for the send. This page covers what that involves, what it costs, and where foreign companies usually lose time.
What actually changes when the target is France
The release has to be in French
This is the point foreign campaigns underestimate most. French desks work in French. A release sent in English is not a release: it is a tip that somebody would have to rewrite before using, and most will not. Translation is not a finishing touch to add if there is budget left — it is the difference between a distribution and a gesture.
If you do not have a French version, have one made before you plan the date. 24Presse sells translation as an option, including in packs of three or five, precisely because it is the step that most often decides whether a campaign lands.
A French list is not a European list
Pan-European distribution and French distribution are different products. 24Presse works from roughly 80,000 French journalist email contacts, sorted into approximately 135 journalistic and thematic categories, alongside separate databases for the rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. A release aimed at French trade media for the construction sector is not the same selection as one aimed at national business dailies.
That distinction matters commercially too. A one-country distribution costs less than a continental one, and if France is where your news is relevant, paying for four continents buys reach you have no use for.
Two references are worth knowing if you are building a French target list from outside the country. ACPM is the body that certifies circulation and audience figures for French media, so it is where you check whether a title is as widely read as its own media kit claims. And the Reuters Institute’s France chapter sets out how French audiences actually consume news, which is not the same picture as the UK or the United States.
Coverage still cannot be bought
French newsrooms decide independently what they publish, exactly like anywhere else. Distribution puts your announcement in front of the journalists who cover the subject; whether they write about it depends on the news. Any provider who quotes you a number of guaranteed articles in France is selling advertising under another name.
What to have ready before you start
- The French text, final. Translated by someone who knows the sector, not only the language. Technical and financial vocabulary is where machine translation gives itself away.
- A contact who answers in Paris hours. A French journalist who calls at 15:00 CET and reaches a voicemail in another time zone moves on to the next story. If nobody on your side speaks French, say so in the release and give an English-speaking contact explicitly.
- Your targeting decided. Which sectors, and whether the news is national or regional. France has a dense regional press, and a regional angle often travels further than a national one.
- Usable images. Correct dimensions, rights cleared.
- A date, and 24 hours of margin. If the announcement is tied to a fixed day, submit at least a day ahead and say so at submission.
What it costs
France alone is a one-country distribution. These are the published rates:
| One-country plan | Total | Effective price per release |
|---|---|---|
| One release | €395 | €395 |
| Pack of 3 | €585 | €195 |
| Pack of 5 | €745 | €149 |
| Pack of 10 | €1,195 | €119.50 |
Packs do not expire on a campaign, which is what makes them useful for anyone announcing more than once a year. Wider scopes — one, two, three, four continents or worldwide — are priced separately on the pricing page, along with the options: translation, media monitoring, a dedicated press room, and publication on Google News France.
If you are an agency placing news for clients
Agencies outside France are among our regular customers, and the arrangement is simple: you keep the client relationship, we handle the French distribution. There is no French partner to bring in, no revenue share to negotiate, and no need to explain to your client why a second agency appears on the invoice.
The packs are what make it work economically. At €119.50 per release, French distribution stops being a line item you have to justify and becomes something you can include by default when a client’s news is relevant in France.
How long it takes, and what happens next
Between six and 72 hours from submission, and most of that window is your own approval time rather than ours — the detail is in how long press release distribution takes. Nothing is sent before you have approved the final version.
Afterwards, resist the urge to judge it in 48 hours. French trade monthlies work to production schedules, coverage often appears without a link back, and some of your visibility will now be in AI-generated answers rather than articles — Google sets out its own guidance on how content surfaces in AI experiences. We set out how to read that in why a press release does not get picked up.
Distributing in France from abroad is not difficult. It is translation, targeting and a reachable contact — and the first of the three is where foreign campaigns most often come unstuck. Get the French version right and the rest is logistics.
Frequently asked questions
No. A foreign company can distribute in France directly, without a French subsidiary or a local agency. What you need is the release in French, targeting matched to your sector, and a contact journalists can reach.
In practice, yes. French newsrooms work in French, and a release in English is something a journalist would have to rewrite before using. Translation is available as an option, including in packs of three or five.
France alone is a one-country distribution: €395 for a single release. Packs bring the effective price down to €195 for three, €149 for five and €119.50 per release for ten. Wider geographic scopes are priced separately.
24Presse works from roughly 80,000 French journalist email contacts, sorted into approximately 135 journalistic and thematic categories. Your release goes to the categories that match your subject, not to the whole list — relevance decides whether it is used.
Yes, and agencies outside France are among our regular customers. You keep the client relationship and we handle the French distribution. The packs are what make it economic: at €119.50 per release, French coverage can be included by default rather than justified case by case.
Between six and 72 hours from submission, and most of that window is your own approval time. Nothing is distributed before you have approved the final version. If you need a fixed date, submit at least 24 hours ahead and say so at submission.
Planning an announcement that matters in France?
Tell us the subject, the sector and the date. You will get a scope, a price and a realistic timetable — and an honest answer if France is not where your news belongs.
Request a quote — or submit your release if it is already written.