With the military taking power in Niger, anti-French sentiment in the country is growing; the new regime has interfered with French media broadcasting in the country.
A week after the coup d’état in Niger, according to various sources, the broadcasting of RFI and France 24 programmes in the country was interrupted.
France Médias Monde, which supervises French media activities, has criticised the development, which it said was “taken outside any conventional or legal framework, which further deprives citizens in the region of access to free, independent and verified information”.
RFI and France 24 said they had already faced censorship in Mali and Burkina Faso in recent months after those countries also suffered coups and where sentiments were similarly anti-French.
The new government in Niger has BANNED France 24 TV and RFI radio. France has condemned the action 🇫🇷🇳🇪 pic.twitter.com/tibdXuMsnH
— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) August 3, 2023
RFI radio claimed a weekly audience of 1.9 million listeners in Niger, or 18 per cent of the population, and said it was the number-one international broadcaster with opinion leaders. France 24 TV was reportedly followed by a quarter of Niger’s population.
The French broadcasters pointed out that they are still accessible in Niger through direct satellite reception with certain channels and can be accessed via YouTube and elsewhere on the internet.
The European Union strongly condemned the blocking of RFI and France 24 in Niger, considering it a “violation of human rights and freedoms”, EU spokeswoman Nabila Masrali said.
L’UE juge inacceptable la suspension de @RFI et de @FRANCE24 au Niger.
Cette mesure est une atteinte grave au droit à l’information et à la liberté d’expression.
L’UE condamne fermement ces violations aux libertés fondamentales.
— Nabila Massrali (@NabilaEUspox) August 4, 2023
Niger’s coup leaders further said they ended the mandates of ambassadors to the United States, France, Nigeria and Togo. The move was made public via national TV by a member of the new regime.
Niger’s Ambassador to France Aichatou Boulama Kane asserted on August 4 that she was still in position despite the coup in the West African country. She expressed her continued loyalty to detained President Mohamed Bazoum.
Kane, who has been serving as ambassador since July 2022, firmly rejected the coup leaders’ order to terminate her mandate, along with those of the Niger ambassadors to Nigeria, Togo, and the United States. She deemed the order “null and void”.
In an interview with AFP, she stated: “I am still the ambassador of the legitimate [deposed Niger] President Mohamed Bazoum and I consider myself to be so.”
She further insisted that the notification to cull her position, issued by the new leaders, was made by illegitimate authorities. “I am the ambassador of Niger in France,” she said.
Bazoum published an opinion piece in The Washington Post asking for “the US Government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order”.
“Fighting for our shared values, including democratic pluralism and respect for the rule of law, is the only way to make sustainable progress against poverty and terrorism,” he added.
“The Nigerien people will never forget your support at this pivotal moment in our history.”
