How a French headline is built
French headlines cut the same things: articles, auxiliaries, the verb être. The most common pattern has two halves. Before the colon comes the topic, usually a single noun, and after it the news.
The colon pattern
Four compressions
| Device | Headline | Written out |
|---|---|---|
| Participle without auxiliary | Retraites : la réforme adoptée au Sénat | La réforme des retraites a été adoptée au Sénat. |
| Noun chain | Hausse record des prix de l'électricité | Les prix de l'électricité augmentent comme jamais. |
| Present for past events | La Première ministre démissionne | La Première ministre a démissionné. |
| vers + noun | Vers une grève reconductible à la SNCF | Une grève reconductible se dessine à la SNCF. |
English headlines drop words too, and Reform passed by Senate works like the French participle. The difference is the colon: English headlines rarely open with a bare topic noun, French ones do it all the time. Vers + noun announces a trend that has not happened yet, roughly heading for.
Reporting verbs take sides
Between a dit and prétend lies a judgement. The verb a paper uses to introduce a statement shows whether it reports it neutrally, finds it credible or doubts it.
What the verb says about the statement
| Verb | Signal |
|---|---|
| déclarer, indiquer, préciser | neutral, the paper simply reports |
| affirmer, assurer | the speaker insists; the paper does not vouch for it |
| prétendre | doubt: the paper probably thinks it is false |
| reconnaître, admettre, concéder | the speaker admits something unfavourable |
| nier, démentir | nier denies an accusation, démentir denies a report |
| dénoncer, déplorer, s'indigner | criticism or outrage from the speaker |
One statement, three stances
Le maire a indiqué que les travaux seraient terminés en juin.
The mayor said the work would be finished in June.
Neutral.
Le maire assure que les travaux seront terminés en juin.
The mayor insists the work will be finished in June.
He vouches for it, the paper does not.
Le maire prétend que les travaux seront terminés en juin.
The mayor claims the work will be finished in June.
The paper does not believe it.
English claim carries a similar hint of doubt, which makes prétendre easy to map. Just don't read it as pretend: prétendre que means claim that, not make believe.
Source and distance
Besides the verb, three devices show where information comes from and how far the newsroom stands from it: the tag after a quote (incise) with inversion, the source formula, and quotation marks around a single word.
In the report
« Nous ne céderons pas », a martelé la ministre.
“We will not give in,” the minister insisted.
After a quote the verb comes before the subject.
« La décision est prise », a-t-il ajouté.
“The decision has been made,” he added.
With a pronoun as a-t-il, a-t-elle.
Le suspect a été interpellé mardi, a-t-on appris de source policière.
The suspect was arrested on Tuesday, police sources said.
Standard wire-service formula; the source stays unnamed.
Le site fermera fin mars, selon une source proche du dossier.
The plant will close at the end of March, according to a source close to the matter.
An insider, but anonymous.
L'opposition juge le budget « insincère ».
The opposition calls the budget “insincere”.
The word belongs to the opposition, not the paper.
In headlines the conditionnel is the strongest distance signal: Le PDG aurait touché trois millions means the paper reports it without confirming it, much like is said to or reportedly. If there is no selon or d'après, the source is usually another outlet.
Decoding a headline completely
Three questions for every headline
- 1
What happened?
Write the headline out as a full sentence: add the auxiliary, the articles and the tense.
- 2
Who says so?
Look for a name before the colon, quotation marks, selon or d'après.
- 3
How sure is the paper?
Indicative without a source means confirmed; conditionnel or prétendre means distance.
Decoded
Macron : « La France tiendra ses engagements »
Macron says France will keep its commitments.
A name before the colon plus a quote means that person is speaking.
Football : le PSG aurait trouvé son nouvel entraîneur
Football: PSG reportedly finds new coach
A rumour, not yet confirmed.
Inflation : la fin du cauchemar ?
Inflation: is the nightmare over?
The question shows the paper leaves it open.
