PR professionals in France: an overview of the sector

Purpose – This paper aims to present different types of data derived from recent surveys of the academic and professional literature. It intends to provide an overall account of the situation of PR professionals in France with insight into their views and their work. Design/methodology/approach – The research question posed is: “What kinds of PR topics are being investigated and how is the professional sphere of PR regarded?” Findings – PR studies are mostly the work of professional organizations. Although numerous studies were conducted by the university sector during the early 1990s in conjunction with the strong development of the communications professional field, there has been a decrease in university studies on PR professionals since early 2000. Generally speaking, studies conducted by professionals are more often focused on skills and activities, whereas those conducted by academics are more often focused on communications professions, people, reasoning behind actions in practice, and skills turned into action. Originality/value – The various issues underlying the studies examined confirm a growing interest in the working environment, including socio‐political expectations of PR professionals. Through these studies a new perspective of PR professionals as social engineers – versus technicians – seems to appear. In addition, the consideration of societal and social issues by professionals, may suggest that the profession is working to improve its legitimacy.