the SECAM system. La deuxième chaîne became the first colour television channel in France. TF1 would not commence colour broadcasting on 625-lines until 1 September 1975. Such technology later allowed the network to air programming in NICAM stereo (compatible with SECAM).

The present channel is the direct successor of Antenne 2, established under a 1974 law that mandated the breakup of ORTF into seven distinct organisations. Three television "programme