Guinea bans France 24 over Doumbouya remark

Guinea's media regulator banned France 24 from broadcasting in the country on September 17 after the French television outlet described President Mamady Doumbouya as a “putschist president”.

The High Authority for Communication said the channel made “remarks deemed to undermine the dignity” of Doumbouya. It revoked France 24's authorisation to broadcast in Guinea and withdrew press accreditations for its correspondents, special envoys and contributors.

The regulator had issued a formal warning to France 24 on Wednesday and asked it to correct its digital platforms. The clip remained on the channel's website on Thursday with a written note saying the wording was an error. France 24 told AFP it had apologised and corrected the error on air and online.

The regulator also withdrew the press accreditation of the correspondent for French-language magazine Jeune Afrique on Wednesday, accusing the reporter of professional misconduct without giving further details.

The Forces Vives de Guinee, an alliance of opposition parties and rights groups, criticised the regulator and said the junta sought “to muzzle the international press after having already silenced domestic media”. It also criticised France 24 for apologising.

Reporters Without Borders said the regulator's decisions “undermine the freedom to report and the public's right to diverse sources of information in Guinea” and called on authorities to reverse them.

Doumbouya came to power in a 2021 coup before being elected president in December 2025 in a vote with no significant opposition. Since his rise, political parties have been dissolved, protests banned and numerous dissenting voices have been arrested, convicted, forced into exile or gone missing.

France 24 has previously been banned in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The station is also not currently broadcast in Togo after a 2025 suspension.