The first televised greetings from the President of the Republic on a December 31 is de Gaulle
Since 1960, this has been the custom: every December 31, the President of the Republic makes his televised show of wishing the French people well. Before that? It was freestyle. Vincent Auriol did them on January 6, and René Coty on December 28, 1956, just to get a head start. Then General de Gaulle took to the airwaves on December 31, 1960, to address his best wishes to the French people for 1961. His successors have continued what has become a "direct" rendezvous between themselves and the French people. It is now a speech, facing the camera and without a journalist asking questions. It takes place at 20H00 and is broadcast on the French public media and on a large part of the private media.
A speech by General de Gaulle on national television (in uniform in January 1960) / Illustration chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: By Lindeboom, Henk / Anefo - http://proxy.handle.net/10648/a9a6d860-d0b4-102d-bcf8-003048976d84 Nationaal Archief, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65005466
Greetings to the French: on average 10 minutes, after the Marseillaise and from the Elysée Palace.
Greetings are serious business! And to each his own. De Gaulle, Pompidou, Mitterrand? Sitting up straight behind their desks, they look like model heads of state. Giscard, more chic, opted for a silk chair. Chirac, always on the move, preferred them standing up. And for the decor? Anything's possible at the Élysée: office, library, gilded lounge... even a flag in the background, just to look solemn. François Hollande, on the other hand, innovated with his lectern. And since 1982, subtitling has enabled everyone to follow along.
The entrance to the Palais de l'Elysée on the rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré side. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: KovalenkovPetr via depositphotos
The timing depends on the presidential mood: de Gaulle holds the record with 18 minutes in 1962, followed by Macron. A woman at the presidential inauguration? Not yet, but she will. And she'll have a hard time matching the one who is thea recordwoman of TV greetings and who was British: Queen Elizabeth II, who addressed Christmas greetings for 66 years.
