Guinea’s media regulator banned France 24 from broadcasting in the country on Thursday, September 17, 2026, after the French television channel referred to President Mamadi Doumbouya as a “putschist President”.
The High Authority for Communication said the description, used during a September 14 broadcast, undermined the dignity of the head of state. It had formally warned France 24 on Wednesday, September 16, for using what it described as an inappropriate term.
France 24 said it intended to apologise and correct the error. A notice published beneath the relevant video later stated that Doumbouya had been mistakenly labelled. Doumbouya was elected president in December 2025, marking Guinea’s return to civilian rule following the September 2021 coup. His ruling party subsequently secured a landslide victory in parliamentary and local elections in May 2026.
On September 16, the regulator also withdrew the accreditation of a Jeune Afrique correspondent over alleged professional misconduct. France 24 has previously been banned in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, while a three-month suspension imposed in Togo in 2025 has not yet been lifted.