From Plateau-Mont-Royal to Outremont, from Mile End to Westmount, from Old Montreal to Griffintown — the radio that accompanies the 150,000 French nationals settled in Quebec. An open, contemporary France, to listen to daily from Montreal — the city where RMF was born.
Quebec hosts around 150,000 French nationals, the vast majority of whom live in Montreal and its metropolitan area. It is one of the largest French communities outside France. This presence is old, structured, multigenerational — French nationals settled for work, love, adventure, or to offer their children a bicultural education between France and North America.
The French in Montreal fall into varied profiles. Executives and professionals — banking, consulting, tech, media, design — concentrated downtown, in Outremont, Westmount, Plateau-Mont-Royal, and Griffintown. Creatives and entrepreneurs — startups, agencies, freelancers — often based in Mile End, Plateau, Villeray, or Rosemont. Bicultural families — often in French-Quebecois or French-Canadian couples — split their lives between French schools (Collège international Marie de France, Collège Stanislas) and Quebec public schools.
RMF was also born in Montreal. Be Médias, the company that publishes RMF Radio, is incorporated in Quebec. Julien and Delphine, its founders, live in Montreal and build this radio from their expatriation. For the French in Quebec, RMF is therefore not a French radio "from France" — it is a French radio designed from expatriation, by expats, for expats.
RMF is listened to throughout Montreal and its region. The main RMF audience communities are found in the following neighborhoods:
Montreal lives in time difference with France — six hours less in winter. This difference shapes the rhythm of the French in Quebec, who compose their day between Paris in the morning and Montreal in the evening. RMF accompanies both times.
When you have your coffee in Montreal, it's already 2pm in Paris. RMF accompanies the Quebec morning with programming aligned with Paris — éphéméride, horoscope, but with the freshness of France's afternoon. For metro commutes, drives downtown, remote work facing the Plateau.
At noon in Montreal, it's 6pm in Paris — the French are ending their workday. RMF accompanies your lunch break with Les reprises qu'on aime — a denser, more present musical program that extends France's evening energy.
In the evening in Montreal, Paris is already sleeping. RMF keeps your French link alive — Branchouille at 9pm Paris time (3pm Montreal), 70's-80's on Friday night Paris (3pm Friday Montreal). For drinks on the Plateau, evenings in Outremont, family dinners.
The Quebec weekend often heads to the Laurentians, the Eastern Townships, or chalets on the lakes. RMF keeps you company on the road — on highway 15, on the 10, on the 40. For Quebec's long roads, where radio takes on its full meaning.
When it's −25°C in Montreal and France has a mild January, RMF is a thread of warmth — a contemporary France, sunlit by music, that warms Canadian winter days. For evenings by the fireplace and drives on snowy roads.
On the Plateau, in Outremont, on the South Shore, working remotely facing Mount Royal — RMF is available live all day and all night. On the web, via the app, on CarPlay, Android Auto. The French thread in Quebec, without interruption.
Beyond the live broadcast, several RMF podcasts particularly resonate with our Montreal audience. Here is a selection.
Cécile Lazartigues-Chartier unpacks cultural misunderstandings. Particularly valuable for the French in Quebec — where the shared language often masks deep cultural differences between France and North America.
Anne Pélouas shares her favorite destinations. Anne Pélouas herself lives in Montreal — her perspective on destinations is nourished by this double francophone culture, France and the Americas.
Emmanuelle Caron shares her literary favorites. For French readers in Montreal who want to keep up with French editorial news — between visits to Librairie du Square or Olivieri.
Daniel de Montplaisir narrates great eras. For the French in Quebec interested in the shared history between France and New France — four centuries of transatlantic ties.
Mélanie Boude talks appellations, varietals, regions. For the French in Quebec navigating between the SAQ and specialized wine cellars — where French references retain their full place in the local wine culture.
French entrepreneurs building elsewhere. Relevant for French Tech Montreal — one of the largest French entrepreneur communities outside France, between Mile End, Griffintown, and the Quartier de l'innovation.
Preparing to leave for Montreal? Just arrived in Quebec? Living on the Plateau, in Outremont, in Westmount for years? Here are the main neighborhoods where RMF accompanies its Montreal listeners.
Plateau-Mont-Royal is the French epicenter of Montreal. Avenue du Mont-Royal, rue Saint-Denis, parc La Fontaine, spiral staircases, dépanneurs at every corner — this is the neighborhood where the largest concentration of French in Montreal has settled over the past twenty years. Creative profiles, entrepreneurs, young families, freelancers. The Plateau cultivates a trendy art de vivre, both francophone and international.
For the French on the Plateau, RMF is a daily cultural companion — between the terraces of boulevard Saint-Laurent and the French bakeries of rue Saint-Denis.
Plateau page coming soonMile End is Montreal's iconic creative neighborhood. Formerly industrial, become a hub for tech, video games (historic Ubisoft), design, and independent media. Independent cafés, creative studios, famed brunches, historic Hasidic Jewish community. Mile End attracts French creatives, freelancers, tech profiles, and entrepreneurs.
For the French in Mile End, RMF accompanies a creative daily life — between the counter cafés of rue Saint-Viateur and the tech studios of the neighborhood.
Mile End page coming soonOutremont is Montreal's upscale francophone residential borough. Avenue Bernard, avenue Laurier, parc Outremont, renowned francophone schools — Outremont attracts upper-middle-class families seeking calm, quality of life, and a francophone environment. It's the historic borough of the French-Canadian bourgeoisie and increasingly of settled French families.
For the French in Outremont, RMF accompanies a residential and family daily life — between the terraces of avenue Bernard and walks in parc Pratt.
Outremont page coming soonWestmount is Montreal's upscale anglophone residential enclave. An independent borough-city, Westmount hosts affluent anglophone, international, and cosmopolitan francophone families. Avenue Greene, Westmount Park, prestigious private schools (Collège Marianopolis, The Study) — the Westmount art de vivre combines residential quality of life and proximity to downtown.
For the French in Westmount, RMF is a French thread at the heart of a mostly anglophone universe — between the shops of avenue Greene and walks on the slopes of Mount Royal.
Westmount page coming soonOld Montreal and Griffintown form the modern and residential pole of downtown. Old Montreal — historic cobblestoned neighborhood, place Jacques-Cartier, rue Saint-Paul — attracts business profiles and tourists. Griffintown, right next door, has become in fifteen years the neighborhood of modern condos, new tech companies, and young French professionals. The Lachine Canal, the Atwater Market nearby.
For the French in Old Montreal and Griffintown, RMF accompanies an urban and international daily life — between the terraces of the Old Port and the offices of the new Quebec economy.
Old Montreal and Griffintown pages coming soonVilleray, Rosemont, and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG) are Montreal's family-friendly and trendy neighborhoods. Villeray increasingly attracts French creatives and young families. Rosemont (particularly Petite-Patrie) combines calm, neighborhood shops, and francophone culture. NDG, more mixed anglo-franco, attracts international families. These three neighborhoods offer a rare balance between quality of life, accessible prices, and proximity to the center.
For the French in Villeray, Rosemont, and NDG, RMF accompanies a family and cultural daily life — in neighborhoods where local life takes precedence over downtown bustle.
Villeray, Rosemont and NDG pages coming soonMontreal's metropolitan region also hosts many French in the suburbs. The South Shore (Brossard, Boucherville, Saint-Lambert) attracts families seeking space while staying 20 minutes from the center. Laval, just north, combines accessibility and schools. The North Shore (Blainville, Sainte-Thérèse) offers single-family homes, access to the Laurentians in less than an hour.
For the French in the Montreal suburbs, RMF accompanies daily life — on highways 10, 15, 20, and 40, in cars commuting daily between suburb and downtown.
South Shore, Laval, North Shore pages coming soonExpatriation to Quebec is unique among French expatriation experiences. The shared language sometimes masks the real cultural differences — road code, labor code, social code, parent-school codes. PR procedures (permanent residence), diploma equivalencies, school enrollment (Quebec public network or French schools) shape the first years. It's also this double culture — France and North America — that makes the richness of Quebec expatriation.
For all those living this Quebec expatriation, RMF is a living French thread — that of a France that continues to express itself daily, in a North American environment.
Quebec expatriation page coming soonDo you travel often? Do you have loved ones in other francophone cities around the world? Discover how RMF fits into the daily lives of its listeners elsewhere.
24/7, in 95 countries. For the French in Quebec and everyone who loves this double France–North America identity. Tune in, see what's playing.