【DELF B2 Preparation】🌍Who Are the Whistleblowers? Brave Voices Speaking Truth

My DELF B2 Preparation Blog – Listening & Writing Practice

🎧 Learning French Through Real Topics: “C’est quoi un lanceur d’alerte ?” – 1jour1actu

As part of my DELF B2 preparation, I watched short video from 1jour1actu that explains the role of whistleblowers (lanceurs d’alerte). In this post, I will summarize what I learned, share the useful vocabularies, grammar tips, and give my own opinion about this topic!

What is a lanceurs d’alerte (Whistleblower)?

In French, “lancer d’alerte” means “to sound the alarm”. So “un lanceurs d’alerte” is someone who reveals hidden dangers, injustice, usually discovered through their work.

📘 Useful Vocabulary:

French	English	Comment
un lanceur d’alerte	whistleblower	Gendered: une lanceuse d’alerte (f.)
révéler une vérité	to reveal a truth	Verb: révéler = to uncover, to expose
cacher des information	to hide information	cacher = to hide, often used in passive voice: est caché
l’intérêt général	public interest/common good	Common DELF these: ethics, responsibility

✅ Grammar Tip:

French often uses “l’agir dans intérêt de…” (to act in the interest of…).

Example:

Ils agissent dans l’intérêt général.
-> They act in the interest of society in general.

🟠 Real-Life Examples from the Video

Frances Haugen (ex-Facebook employee)

Elle a révélé que Facebook cachait des informations sur les dangers pour la santé mentale des enfants.
-> She revealed that Facebook was hiding information about the dangers to children’s mental health.

Edward Snowden

Il a dévoilé un programme d’espionnage illégal.
-> He disclosed an illegal spying program.

Irène Frachon

Elle a prouvé qu’un médicament mettait en danger la vie de milliers de personnes.
-> She proved that a drug endangered the lives of thousands.

📘 Grammar Focus – Que / Qui Clauses

French often uses relative clauses to connect ideas:

• Elle a prouvé qu’un médicament mettait en danger… → “that a drug endangered…”
• This structure is common in B2 writing tasks, especially when justifying your opinion.

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🟠 Why Are Whistleblowers Important?

They act for the benefit of everyone, not for personal revenge or money. They bring awareness to public dangers and help create a more transparent society.

Ils agissent dans l’intérêt général, c’est-à-dire pour protéger la société tout entière.
(They act in the public interest, that is, to protect society as a whole.)

📘 Vocabulary Breakdown:

• c’est-à-dire = that is to say / in other words (very useful in B2 writing)
• la société tout entière = the entire society (tout entier(e) = whole, entire)
• protéger = to protect (conjugated like manger: je protège, nous protégeons)

🔑 DELF Strategy Tip:

Use phrases like:

• C’est une démarche courageuse. (It’s a brave action.)
• Cela montre un vrai sens de responsabilité. (It shows a true sense of responsibility.)

These expressions show moral reasoning, a key skill at B2 level.

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🟠 The Price of Telling the Truth

Many whistleblowers suffer serious consequences:

• Ils peuvent être harcelés. (They can be harassed.)
• Ils risquent de perdre leur travail. (They risk losing their jobs.)

📘 Vocabulary + Grammar:

• être harcelé = to be harassed (passive voice: être + past participle)
• risquer de + infinitif = to risk doing something
  → e.g., Elle risque de perdre sa carrière.
  (She risks losing her career.)

However, en France, there are laws to protect them:

Il existe des lois spéciales pour les protéger.
→ “There are special laws to protect them.”

This is a classic B2 structure:

• Il existe + [noun] = There is/are…
  → Very useful to start an argument or paragraph.

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🟢 My Personal Opinion

This video made me reflect on the value of truth and the courage it takes to speak out. In my view:

À mon avis, il est essentiel de soutenir les lanceurs d’alerte.
(In my opinion, it is essential to support whistleblowers.)

Even though they take great risks, their actions protect democracy, public health, and justice. We should create a system that protects and respects them.

In science, journalism, or public service, people must sometimes choose between silence and justice.
I hope I will have the courage to choose truth, too.

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✏️ DELF B2 Vocabulary Recap

Expression	Translation	Usage
un lanceur d’alerte	a whistleblower	person who reveals hidden truth
agir dans l’intérêt général	act for the public good	useful in argumentative essays
dénoncer une injustice	report an injustice	dénoncer = to denounce, reveal
être harcelé / intimidé	be harassed / threatened	passive voice
révéler une vérité cachée	reveal a hidden truth	often used in news and ethics topics
un citoyen éclairé	an informed citizen	use in conclusion to show reflection