According to AFNIC, the Registry who operates the French country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) .FR, the .FR ccTLD has reached the milestone of 4 million registered domain names due to its versatility, security, and trustworthiness.
AFNIC announced that .FR has almost 40% of the French domain market, a figure that is growing each year. The number of new .FR domains registered each week ranges from 12,000 to 16,000 domain names. It is easy to register a domain name under the .FR extension, which is favored by over half of French small and medium-sized businesses with websites. The European Union or Switzerland, Norway, Island, or Liechtenstein are the only countries that can register .FR domain names.
With regard to information systems security management and data protection for individuals, AFNIC emphasizes the reliability and security of ccTLDs. In addition, the Registry emphasizes that maintaining a trustable space is their priority, which is why they offer a variety of online tools to report abuses and infringements, in addition to two dispute resolution services for domain names – SYRELI and PARL-EXPERT.
For this reason, AFNIC has recently opened a public consultation on a new initiative intended to expand domain dispute resolution options. They have recently announced that they wish to explore the possibility of opening a mediation service, free of charge, for the amicable resolution of disputes. Here are the full details of the consultation, which closes on 23 March 2022.
The other ccTLDs operated by AFNIC for the French overseas territories are also available with all of the existing services previously mentioned: Reunion Island (.RE), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (.PM), Mayotte (.YT), and the French Southern Territories (.TF). The countries include Wallis and Futuna (.WF).
The latest Verisign Industry Brief published in December indicates that .FR ranks 8th globally in terms of domain name registration volume, behind the top three ccTLDs, .CN (China) with more than 18 million domains registered, .DE (Germany) with 17,3 million, and .UK (United Kingdom) with more than 11.1 million.