"À La Une" Meaning in French

The French expression à la une means "on the front page." It's a common way to talk about the day's top news headlines or the stories that make up the news in general. The words within the phrase can also be used to refer to a variety of different things.

This lesson will walk you through all of it and quickly add some new expressions to your French vocabulary.

The Meaning of À la une

À la une is pronounced ah lah oon. Its literal translation is "on the one," though it refers specifically to news coverage.

La une refers to the front page of a newspaper, so the French expression à la une means "on the front page" or even just "in the news." It can also become part of more definitive phrases:

• Un article à la une - lead story
• être à la une (des journaux) - to hit the papers, make the news
• À la une aujourd'hui - Today's headlines

Note that la une does not contract to l'une in this expression.

Part of casual conversation, the expression falls into the informal register of the French language. 

Related French Expressions

When you break down à la une, its parts can be used to refer to other things in French. Here are the most common examples, each of which is also in the informal register.

• La une can also refer to "table one" in a restaurant.
• la Une used to mean "channel one" on television (now it's called TF1).
• À la une, à la deux, à la trois! means "And a one, and a two, and a three!"