Hi
Not sure if this a simple question or an impossible one. We have a TV in our rental gite that gets all the UK channels on free sat ( I think it is looking at the Astra satellite) but we are unable to receive any French channels. Can we do this or do we need to point at another satellite? or get additional hardware.
IIRC the UK channels are on Astra 2 and the same one is used for the French TV channels.
You will need a French TV box though (such as Orange or Strong) to receive them.
Or… if you have good internet access and a smart TV, you can get French channels (as we do) through Molotov TV.
Hi Graham
Thanks for the advice, sadly our internet is pretty slow I wonder if something like this would work https://www.amazon.co.uk/Satellite-Decoder-TNTSAT-Receiver-Modulator/dp/B07YX7MX5X/ref=pd_sbs_107_1/257-0877435-3660702?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07YX7MX5X&pd_rd_r=b1d3166b-2b14-4ffb-b451-9ec42ea824ec&pd_rd_w=npflO&pd_rd_wg=4QWjt&pf_rd_p=ab0f8dce-7f41-4f1b-a486-fa30b5d29eaa&pf_rd_r=BN1RDTHHZT8P2H5DNF3Q&psc=1&refRID=BN1RDTHHZT8P2H5DNF3Q
@anon88169868 is the usual good source of reference here…
or maybe this one from Amazon.fr - the plugs will be the correct type…
Either way, don’t forget to select Amazon from the affiliates banner at the top of the page so SF get their commission 
If getting UK Freesat you’ll be aimed at the cluster at 28.2°E, it doesn’t carry French channels.
For French channels you want the Astra 1 cluster at 19.2°E
See Astra 19.2°E List of free-to-air television channels or Astra 1L (19.2°E) - All transmissions - frequencies - KingOfSat for the channels available on 19.2°E
The decoder on amazon uk would be the right one for Astra 1 French TV.
You can either re-aim your dish or get a dual LNB (with 9° offset) to get both satellites on the one dish, but you need a decoder that will drive a dual LNB and I doubt that specific decoder would be able to do that.
Can you not just install a normal TV aerial and get French TV the way the rest of us do? Or do you want specific channels only available on satellite?
I recall someone else posed a similar question a few weeks ago.
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Thanks Paul, somehow I sort of knew it would not be simple 
I can do that and having got feedback, I guess that is what I will end up doing. It was just as we have the dish and there was a simple solution it seemed that would be the cheaper/easier option.
We have used something similar to this - it worked but took a lot of alignment. As Paul said you are looking for 28.2E and 19.2E
Not all of the rest of us do. Although we live closer to Perigueux our terrestrial signal comes from Limoges, 80 kms away to the NE. Large trees to the north and the east block any signal from there.
The reason we had to invest in satellite many years ago. We have 2 dishes, one for the French and one for the UK.
Some years ago when the BBC decided we shouldn’t be watching in France we were looking for a bigger dish, but before I bought I noticed one in the skip at the dechetterie. Been perfect ever since. 
We have a dual LNB dish - one for the UK channels and the other for French. The dish points in one direction but the LNBs are offset to get the correct signals.
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Our setups date back to the 90s, Not sure such technology was available at that time.
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Indeed, there are always some people who, by accident of geography, cannot receive terrestrial broadcasts, my son has similar problems in Peterborough, but most of us can receive it so it’s generally a first port of call for land-based TV.
I have TNT sat i only watch french tv. My guests watch the uk channels and there are channels in other languages as well …
My current box is a Sagemcom from Amazon. The card comes with it lasts several years then you renew it for 7 euros.
Dual LNB’s - yes they were available in the 90’s
Not just the BBC but any broadcaster buying in content where the licence stipulates limitations as to its geographic availability (i.e all broadcasters) so the UK spot-beam was tightened up when they moved to Astra 2E (2014ish). This had the benefit of better coverage of the British Isles for Sky and their “mini dish” with less overspill into southern Europe. In fact coverage in northern  France improved so viewers in Brittany and Normandy need at most a 60cm dish for good reception.
Of course, if you were in the south of France things got worse.
The current coverage looks like this
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Or with a 120 cms dish, down on the Languedoc coast!
We are in luxembourg.
80cm dish two LNB’s at the bottom of the garden. Connected to
Two decoders in the sitting room.
British TV - Humax decoder with hard drive to record British programmes when require.
French TV - Strong decoder
Elsewhere in the house FRENCH TV via our internet supplier.
English TV with VERY VERY old Sky box also connected to dish in the garden.