Guinea: News channel France 24 "banned from broadcasting"

Guinean authorities "banned the broadcasting with immediate effect" of the French news channel France 24 throughout Guinean territory on Thursday, after having already formally protested the day before because a presenter had described the head of state Mamadi Doumbouya as a "coup president".

In this West African country ruled with an iron fist by Mr. Doumbouya, who came to power through a coup in 2021 before being elected president in December 2025, the High Authority for Communication (HAC) has suspended media outlets on numerous occasions in the past.

The HAC justifies its decision on Thursday by the "maintenance of the incriminating remarks", while on its website France 24 acknowledged having "erroneously described (Mr Doumbouya) as a coup president".

The channel also told AFP on Wednesday evening that it would "apologize and correct this error on air".

On Wednesday, the regulator had expressed a formal protest because France 24 had "deliberately used an inappropriate term to refer to the head of state".

In a television news broadcast on September 14, a presenter described Mamadi Doumbouya as a "coup leader".

Mr. Doumbouya came to power through a coup in 2021, before being elected President of the Republic in December 2025 following an election without any major opposition.

The HAC has asked France 24 to "make the necessary editorial corrections across all of its digital channels".

The excerpt in which Mr. Doumbouya is described as a "coup president" was still visible on the channel's website Thursday morning.

The channel has already been banned in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, three Sahelian countries led by sovereignist military regimes, which have turned away from France to move closer politically and militarily to Russia.

France 24 also does not broadcast in Togo, where it was suspended in 2025, initially for three months, but where it has not been reinstated since.

The HAC also withdrew the press accreditation of the Jeune Afrique newspaper correspondent on Wednesday for "professional misconduct", without specifying the articles in question.

Since General Doumbouya came to power, the main political parties have been dissolved, demonstrations have been banned and repressed, and many dissenting voices have been arrested, convicted, forced into exile, or have disappeared.

In recent years, access to the internet and/or social networks has been restricted on several occasions.

AFP