Easy French News

A1 · Beginner French · NCLC 1–2

A1 French reading practice with real news

A1 is the first CEFR level, and the point at which most learners give up on authentic material — real French news is written for native adults, not for someone six months in. So at A1 each story is a brief, not the full article: about 300 words in six short paragraphs — what happened, who, where and when, the key figure, why it matters, what comes next — in the present tense and the most common French words. Every fact in it is the article’s own; what doesn’t fit is left out rather than changed. When the brief feels easy, the A2 version adds context and reactions, and the full story is one tap away.

What A1 French looks like here

  • About 300 words: a brief you can finish, not an article you abandon.
  • Sentences of five to ten words, one idea each, in the present tense.
  • Everyday vocabulary, with a rare but necessary word explained in a few words.
  • Names, numbers and dates exactly as in the original — nothing added, nothing sharpened.

Each article also carries the original French, so you can read the A1 version first and then check yourself against the real thing. Tap any word for a translation, or listen to the article read aloud.

Latest French news at A1

Technology ·

L’IA bouscule l’université bien au-delà de la triche

L’IA générative bouleverse déjà les universités. Plutôt que d’annoncer la fin du diplôme, il faut repenser la place de l’IA dans l’institution et la façon dont on forme et évalue les étudiants.

A1 version: 284 words · about 2 min

Economy ·

À quoi sert la Banque de France ?

Créée le 18 janvier 1800 par Napoléon Bonaparte, la Banque de France a pour rôle la stabilité monétaire, macroéconomique, bancaire et financière.

A1 version: 249 words · about 1 min

Browse every article

A1 news by topic