In Mali, the process against France that has been implemented by the junta ruling the country is still pending. After having cut off relationships with the former colonial power in order to collaborate with Russia, politically and militarily speaking, the Malian power reached another step towards the moving away from France. The media LCI was lately suspended for two months due to “trumped-up charges” from a consultant of the French TV channel.
On July 27, Michel Goya is said to have pronounced belittlement words, gratuitous assertions and false charges against Malian armed forces and their Russian allies. Goya is currently holding a position of military consultant for LCI, a private channel of TF1 Group.
As a consequence, Mali decided to suspend the French channel for two months. This is not the first time that the Malian power has adopted such measures against the French media over the last few years. The relationships between Mali and the French media are more than strained. TV channels France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI) are no longer broadcast in Mali even though the population was used to watching these channels a lot, like in many countries from Sub-Saharan Africa.
Since the military junta grabbed power in Mali, many journalists working for foreign countries, especially Western countries, have been compelled to leave or remain silent. French TV channel France 2 was also suspended in the beginning of the year.
Mali is not the only country to act tough with the foreign press. In Burkina Faso and Niger, two countries also held by a military junta, some measures have been taken against the foreign media over the last couple of months. LCI was also suspended in June 2023 in Burkina Faso due to “trumped-up information” from a journalist that was talking about the jihadist violences undermining the country