The aim of this article is to present the background and the strategies of French language policy and its impact on the media. The high point to date of language-protectionist efforts, Law 94-668 of August 1994 (loi Toubon), must be seen within the context of a series of developments whose roots have their origins in a time predating the French Revolution. Today, language policy also interferes with the language used on radio and TV — as per decree, lists of specialist French words designed as a replacement for Anglicisms are drawn up. More far-reaching aims originally intended by the loi Toubon, which were targeted specifically at the media, had to be abandoned after a complaint about infringement of the Constitution. Language policy and media policy are inextricably linked in France. This is also apparent from the political strategies employed to elevate French interests to a European plane. Analysing this process offers a theoretically based insight into French media policy in general.