How to Watch French TV From Outside France

French TV viewers have a wide variety of streaming services to choose from. Options include 6Play, France.tv, EuroSport, TV5 Monde, Pluzz, France2, France4, France5, TF1 and many more.

In addition, French versions of international streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are also available.

Sadly, if you’re a French citizen traveling abroad, or a French ex-pat living abroad, you may not have access to your favorite TV shows, movies, and sporting events. That’s because many French streaming services are geo-restricted, meaning they are only available inside French borders.

However, do not be déprimé mes amis, for there is a reliable way to view your favorite French shows and movies. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can break through the virtual roadblocks erected by French streaming services, by making it appear as if you are still back home in France. A VPN is an excellent tool for streaming French TV.

A VPN “spoofs” the location of an internet-connected device by temporarily routing the device’s connection through a VPN service based in the desired country. (In this case, France.)

This causes the rest of the internet to see that device as being inside that country. This opens the gateway to any geo-blocked content that may be restricted to the targeted country.

You’ll find that each VPN provider has its own set of advantages and shortcomings. It’s important to take a close look at both the pros and cons of a VPN provider before making a buying decision.

Why Do French Streaming Services Ban International Viewers?

Even though you faithfully pay for a subscription to your favorite French streaming services, you still won’t have access to your favorite movies and TV series when you’re outside French borders.

Online Streaming services don’t block you just to screw with your head. Unfortunately, the contracts they sign with TV and movie studios require them to limit access to the content to a specific geographical area.

Content agreements allow producers to sell their movies and  popular TV shows more than once, and it also helps control which countries the content is shown in, ensuring there are no issues with overly restrictive governments or religious groups in a particular country.

How Geo-Restrictions Work

Every connected device is identified by an IP address, which acts as an identifier on any network, the internet included.

Much like your home address, this allows other devices to know where an information request came from and where the reply is sent. It also can be used to identify the device’s geographical location. (Again, just like your home address.)

Once a streaming service detects your device’s attempt to connect to one of its servers, it checks the device’s IP address. If the address doesn’t match one that should be in its viewing area, it denies the device access to its content.

How Can I View French TV If It’s Blocked?

If you’re French citizen traveling abroad, or if you’re a French ex-pat living somewhere outside of France (or you simply want to check out French content on your favorite online streaming service), you can still appear to be residing in France.

The most reliable method for viewing French streaming services from outside of the country is to use a VPN to spoof your IP address by assigning you one based in France.

While you’re connected to a VPN provider’s France-based servers, it will appear to the rest of the connected world that you are connecting from inside of France.

Once a French streaming service sees that you’re using a French IP address, they’ll open the flood gates and bathe you in all the French content you can stand.

While the purpose of this article is to tell you how to view French TV from abroad, I’d like to take a moment to mention the other benefits of using a VPN.

A VPN does an excellent job of unblocking all types of geo-controlled content. In addition to streaming content, a VPN also opens access to gaming servers, financial services, and numerous other online sites and services.

A VPN also offers an excellent way to keep your online activities and their accompanying valuable information safe from prying eyes. A VPN service creates a tunnel of encryption around your high-speed internet connection, keeping it out of sight, much like a railroad tunnel hides a train.

Encryption prevents your ISP from monitoring your online activities and selling a record of it to advertisers. It also protects from hackers when you’re using your local coffee shop’s public Wi-Fi hotspot.

A VPN’s encryption also prevents your ISP from throttling your connection speeds just because you’re sharing files with a BitTorrenting app or streaming from a service they don’t approve of.

Which VPN Is the Best for Unblocking French TV?

Once upon a time, you could use nearly any quality VPN to unblock your favorite shows and movies from other countries.

However, most online streaming services eventually caught on to the VPN trick and learned how to detect and block viewers who were connecting to the services by using a VPN.

Once streaming services began blocking VPN users, it became up to the VPN providers to set up new VPN servers, which include fresh, unblocked IP addresses. Then, when those IP addresses are again detected and blocked, the VPNs must do it all again.

This requires a VPN provider with the resources and willingness to keep up this virtual battle of hide-and-seek. I’ve found a provider that’s willing to do just that, keeping the lines open to your favorite French content.

NordVPN

NordVPN offers what is arguably the perfect choice for access to streaming services and other resources from countries around the world, including France.

NordVPN’s global server network has servers stationed in most countries around the world, providing fast streaming and well-encrypted connections.  As you would expect, they employ leading security protocols to ensure your online privacy. Their app support is second to none, and the provider also offers top-notch 24/7 customer support.

Read the full NordVPN review here.

1. Connection Speed

It’s an always-connected world, making connection speed a vital feature to consider when you’re mulling over a VPN subscription purchase.

NordVPN scores well in this category, providing the fastest download speeds of any VPN provider that I’ve tested. The service delivers protected connection speeds that are easily up to handling HD and 4K video, as well as enough “oomph” for online gaming and sharing of large files.

Did I mention unlimited bandwidth? No daily or monthly data caps are imposed to spoil the fun.

2. Multi-Platform App Support

In that always-connected world I mentioned in the last section, it seems like every device you own is connected to the internet. This makes multi-platform app support another important consideration.

NordVPN’s native app offerings are second to none. Apps are available for the Amazon Fire, Android TV, Android, iOS, Linux, macOS and Windows device platforms. The service also offers top-notch compatibility with multiple router makes and models, as well as browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

A SmartDNS service opens access to blocked content on Apple TV, other set-top boxes, gaming consoles and other streaming-capable devices. However, it doesn’t encrypt your internet connection like the VPN service does.

Up to 6 devices can simultaneously connect to the service using the same account.

3. Customer Support

While NordVPN is a truly reliable VPN provider, there may come a day when you need help getting set up on a new device, or when you simply have a billing question.

When that day comes, you won’t want to face an extended wait for assistance.

NordVPN’s customer support is a 24/7 affair, with always-available customer support chat, email support and an easy-to-search support library.

4. Global Server Coverage

While it’s true that this article concentrates on watching French TV from abroad, users will find that to be only one advantage provided by a VPN’s global server network. The better the global server coverage, the better access you’ll have to sites and services around the globe.

NordVPN has over 5,500 servers stationed in 59 countries around the world in secure server locations. That includes France-based servers.

5. Pricing

NordVPN is a cheap provider, meaning you can save your money for more important things, like subscriptions to French streaming services.

NordVPN offers a no-risk, 30-day money-back guarantee.

Visit NordVPN.

Watch French TV FAQ