Following the success of the first edition, Afnic held a second round of its communication contest for its distributors – registrars accredited for the .fr Top-Level Domain.
Review of the latest edition: 28 registrars entered the competition to highlight the advantages of choosing a .fr TLD. Congratulations to all of them, and in particular to Viaduc, which took home the Afnic Panel’s Favourite Award.
Afnic launched the competition from 1 August to 31 October 2025, giving registrars the goal of emphasising the value of the many advantages of a .fr domain name: autonomy, trust, proximity, security, data protection, dispute resolution, price, etc. There’s no shortage of arguments!
Review of the 2025 edition
Supported by Afnic’s Customer Team throughout the competition, 28 registrars (20 in the 2024 edition) took part in the challenge with impressive projects: original creations, in many cases with a humorous touch, were notably seen in 238 posts on social media and 35 dedicated mini-sites.
The winners
The “Afnic Panel’s Favourite Award”
This prize is awarded to the participant who most impressed the panel with their creativity in showcasing the .fr TLD.
This year it went to VIADUC.
VIADUC was rewarded with a €10,000 credit to be used in connection with their forthcoming .fr domain name registration operations. VIADUC also met with Afnic’s Customer Team for a convivial lunch.
The image is a photo taken during lunch at a restaurant offered by Afnic to the winner of the Communication Challenge: Viaduc.
Six people, very smiling, are sitting around a round table.
From left to right: Ludovic de Nicolay (Viaduc), Terry Lee (Afnic’s Customer Team), Mickaël Vigreux (Afnic’s Customer Team), Audrey Vergondy (Viaduc), Marie-Thé Robin (Viaduc) and Carole Boussillon (Viaduc).
The ‘Afnic Favorite’ prize Award, materialized by a diploma, is placed in the center of the table.
The winners of the “Best .fr page”
As for the winners of the best page category (homepage, product, blog article, etc.) promoting the .fr TLD on their own websites, this year they were:
- First Prize: PLANET HOSTER.
- Second prize: EURODNS S.A.
- Third prize: FRANCHE COMTE NET-FCNET.
The winners of the “Best communication” award
The registrars with the best communication on social media or on other digital or paper media promoting the .fr TLD were:
- First Prize: SAS Ligne Web Services – LWS.
- Second and third prizes: PLANET BOURGOGNE
- and RANXPLORER / Kif Dom.
Below is the complete list of winners:
The winners received a grant in the form of credits valid for their upcoming registration operations for .fr domain names.
| Favourite Award | Afnic Panel’s Favourite award | VIADUC | €10,000 |
| Best Page | Best page on a Registrar’s website | PLANETHOSTER | €5,000 |
| Second Prize Best page on a Registrar’s website | EURODNS S.A. | €2,500 | |
| Third Prize Best page on a Registrar’s website | FRANCHE COMTE NET-FCNET | €2,500 | |
| Best Communication | Best Communication | SAS Ligne Web Services – LWS | €5,000 |
| Second Prize Best Communication | PLANET BOURGOGNE | €2,500 | |
| Third Prize Best Communication | RANXPLORER / Kif Dom | €2,500 | |
| Best Entries | Best Entries | AMEN | €500 |
| Best Entries | OVH | €500 | |
| Best Entries | Dynadot Inc | €500 | |
| Best Entries | LEXSYNERGY LIMITED | €500 | |
| Best Entries | PROGRAMMEURS REUNIS | €500 | |
| Best Entries | E-DIR | €500 | |
| Best Entries | STUDIO 218 | €500 | |
| Best Entries | JRWEB | €500 | |
| Best Entries | NILYS | €500 | |
| Best Entries | ICE DEVELOPMENT SAS | €500 | |
| Best Entries | ORDIPAT | €500 | |
| Best Entries | FUTUR DIGITAL | €500 | |
| Best Entries | ABSOMOD Group | €500 | |
| Best Entries | IKOULA NET | €500 | |
| Best Entries | OUIHEBERG | €500 | |
| Best Entries | IMAGES CREATIONS | €500 | |
| Best Entries | VEZIM SARL | €500 | |
| Best Entries | NETPILOTE | €500 | |
| Best Entries | ONE 2 NET | €500 | |
| Best Entries | NAMEBAY | €500 | |
| Best Entries | CPS-Datensysteme GmbH | €500 |
The only criterion that mattered in this competition was that of communication – no figures were involved, this being a deliberate choice on the part of the Afnic teams so as to give all registrars the opportunity to take part. So, small, medium-sized and large organisations and English-speaking registrars all had their chance.
And the challenge was a success: the winners represent a broad spectrum, from registrars managing over a million domain names to specialised entities managing fewer than a hundred names.
Congratulations!
Afnic would like to congratulate and sincerely thank all the participants and all the registrars contacted for this challenge!
Beyond the competition, this challenge was also an opportunity to spread the word about the .fr TLD and to further promote dialogue and cooperation with the registrars.
Our thanks to all and, once again, congratulations!
See you all next year for the next edition!
Focus on the role of registrars
Afnic cannot receive requests for registration or renewal of domain names directly; nor any requests for operations of a technical and/or administrative nature.
The registrars are your point of contact if you want your very own .fr TLD.
Registrars are the service providers (Internet access providers, hosters, web agencies, etc.) in charge of the creation, renewal, transfer, change of holder or deletion of your domain names. They also provide their expertise and associated services such as email addresses, website creation and hosting, and tools to secure your online identity.
About Afnic
Afnic is the acronym for Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération, the French Network Information Centre. The registry has been appointed by the French government to manage domain names under the .fr Top Level Domain. Afnic also manages the .re (Reunion Island), .pm (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), .tf (French Southern and Antarctic Territories), .wf (Wallis and Futuna) and .yt (Mayotte) French Overseas TLDs.
In addition to managing French TLDs, Afnic’s role is part of a wider public interest mission, which is to contribute on a daily basis, thanks to the efforts of its teams and its members, to a secure and stable internet, open to innovation and in which the French internet community plays a leading role. As part of that mission, Afnic, a non-profit organization, has committed to devoting 11% of its Revenues from managing .fr Top Level Domain to actions of general interest, in particular by transferring €1.3 million each year to the Afnic Foundation for Digital Solidarity.
Afnic is also the back-end registry for the companies as well as local and regional authorities that have chosen to have their own TLD, such as .paris, .bzh, .alsace, .corsica, .mma, .ovh, .leclerc and .sncf.
Established in 1997 and based in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Afnic currently has nearly 90 employees.
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