This blog post was updated on 22 May 2025.
The French market is sizeable, wealthy and has a decent level of digital maturity, making it very attractive to businesses wanting to expand internationally.
With 87% of the French population being online, digital marketing is one strategy you definitely need to pursue if you want to succeed there.
You are probably familiar with how to do digital marketing on the global platforms like Google, Facebook and Amazon – but did you know that the French have many of their own platforms, that are worth considering if you want to target this market?
This blog post will look at three lesser-known, home-grown platforms that you should be aware of when doing digital marketing in France.
1. Qwant
Qwant is a French-grown search engine that promises to protect user privacy by providing neutral search results and not using tracking cookies. Its target audience is government institutions, companies and individuals concerned about their online privacy and security. Currently, Qwant only has 1% of the search engine market. However, it has huge future growth potential due to the fact that the French government strongly recommends the use of Qwant in all schools in the country. The fact that all French children are growing up using Qwant as their main search engine at school means that Qwant’s market share could skyrocket as these children grow up. For this reason, it is definitely a search engine to keep an eye on.
2. Dailymotion
Dailymotion is a French alternative to YouTube. With fewer competitors on Dailymotion than on YouTube, you might actually get better visibility on Dailymotion.
3. Leboncoin
Leboncoin is the second-largest e-commerce platform in France, after Amazon. It has around 28 million unique visitors per month, making it hugely important if you want to sell your products in the country. A very wide range of items can be listed on Leboncoin, including clothes and shoes, electrical appliances, vehicles, home items, and more.
Want to learn more?
I hope this blog post has given you a useful introduction to digital marketing in France. For more in-depth information, read my free, full-length guide here. The guide covers:
- the current digital landscape in France, including internet penetration rates
- the typical French internet user, including their gender, age, location and online activities
- device usage breakdowns and internet speeds in France
- search engine marketing in France
- how to localise your website for France
- social media marketing in France
- the local culture and language in France
- e-commerce in France
