Another African state bans France 24
Guinea has banned France 24 nationwide, accusing the French state broadcaster of insubordination and of using remarks deemed offensive to the West African nation’s president, Mamadi Doumbouya.
The Guinean High Authority of Communications (HAC) announced the measure on Thursday, revoking the channel’s broadcasting authorization and the accreditations of its correspondents, special envoys, and other staff. The ban covers satellite and cable television, websites, mobile applications, and social media. Canal+ Guinea was instructed to remove the channel from its packages.
“The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPT) is hereby requisitioned to proceed without delay with the technical blocking of all France 24 digital access points,” the HAC said in a statement.
The dispute erupted after a France 24 presenter referred to Doumbouya as a “coup leader” during a news bulletin on Tuesday. The HAC ordered the broadcaster the following day to withdraw the term and issue corrections, arguing that it undermined the president’s dignity.
The regulator said France 24’s failure to comply amounted to an “open challenge” to its authority, a continuing insult to the head of state and a “flagrant violation of the legal sovereignty” of Guinea. It said the ban was necessary to protect public order, institutional stability, and the country’s image.
France 24 later corrected the description and apologized. Doumbouya took power following the 2021 overthrow of President Alpha Conde but was elected president with 86.72% of the vote in December 2025.
The measure came one day after the HAC withdrew the accreditation of Mamadou Diawo Barry, a Guinean correspondent for Jeune Afrique, citing what it called serious breaches of professional ethics and failures of objectivity and balance.
In May 2024, the authorities also revoked the licenses of six private outlets, including Djoma TV, Espace TV, and the FIM, Espace, Sweet, and Djoma radio stations. The government accused them of failing to comply with broadcasting requirements after months of signal disruption.
France 24 has faced similar restrictions elsewhere in West Africa. Neighboring Mali permanently suspended the channel and Radio France Internationale in 2022 after accusing them of broadcasting false reports about alleged abuses by the Malian Army. Their signals remain blocked in the former French colony.
