The representation on French television of immigrants and ethnic minorities of third World origin

A systematic analysis of prime‐time television broadcasting reveals that immigrants and ethnic minorities of Third World origin are seriously underrepresented in the output of France's six terrestrial channels. These groups are most visible in news and current affairs programmes, which focus on problems and conflicts rather than on those areas of life in which immigrants and their families co‐exist harmoniously with the rest of the population. By contrast, minority groups are excluded from game shows and other light entertainment programmes where the emphasis is on conviviality rather than conflict. They are also largely absent from French‐made drama programmes dealing with ‘ordinary’ people such as situation comedies and soap operas. In this way, television programmes reinforce popular images of immigrants as fundamentally alien to French society.