“Can you hear me, Paris?” That’s what the Centre Émetteur de Villebon might have boomed in its prime. This radio transmitter once stood tall in Villebon-sur-Yvette. It played a vital role in providing radio coverage for the Île-de-France region.
The Centre Émetteur de Villebon’s story began in 1934. The first installations were completed and put into service in 1935. Back then, it housed France’s most powerful medium-wave transmitter. It was known as Paris PTT. It broadcast on 695 kHz with 100 kW. The antennas were supported by two 120-meter-high guyed masts.
Marcel Pallenc inaugurated the site. He was the director of French Radio Broadcasting. The Centre Émetteur de Villebon was initially home to the Paris PTT transmitter. This transmitter had previously been located on the roof of the École Supérieure des PTT in Paris.
The Germans sabotaged the transmitter during World War II. However, it was back on the air in 1945. The masts were shorter now. They measured 73 meters.
A new medium-wave transmitter was installed in 1951. It broadcast Paris-Inter with 100kW of power. This transmitter used vapotron tubes. This was a recently developed cooling technology.
Trouble struck again in 1961. The OAS sabotaged one of the two masts. Then in 1965, a second transmitter was put into service. It was for broadcasting France Culture.
During the ORTF era, the regional program Inter Paris Île-de-France was broadcast. It broke away from Inter-Variétés. This broadcast came from the Centre Émetteur de Villebon on 1070 kHz.
Until 2015, a transmitter broadcast the Île-de-France antenna of France Bleu on 864 kHz. It had a power of 300 kW. It was also used sporadically by other local radio stations. This transmitter was the first all-transistor medium-wave transmitter of its power installed in France.
Radio France decided to shut down all its AM transmitters at the end of 2015. Only the transmitter broadcasting France Inter on 162 kHz remained. It was deactivated at the end of 2016.
In 2021, the installations were dismantled. Only the technical building remains on the site. A separate FM and mobile phone transmitter center is nearby. It is located on a 76-meter self-supporting mast. This mast also belongs to TDF.
This second site once housed television transmitters. These transmitters were among the first to broadcast digital terrestrial television. They have since been moved to a 73-meter water tower about one kilometer away. Towercast and TDF operate them.
Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free used the Centre Émetteur de Villebon for their services. The location also supported other transmissions. These included the Direction des Routes COM TER. Also IFW, E*Message and TDF.