The situation is tense day by day between Niger and France. Radio France internationale (RFI) and the France 24 channel have been inaccessible since Thursday afternoon, AFP journalists in Niamey noted. These French media have been suspended. The signals of the RFI FM station and France 24 were cut “on instructions from the new military authorities”, a senior Nigerien official told AFP. France was quick to react, condemning “very strongly” this suspension, which comes after a coup that overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
“In Niger, the measures taken against the press are part of a context of authoritarian repression led by the authors of the attempted coup”, denounces the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its press release.
In a televised speech on Wednesday evening, General Abdourahamane Tiani, who seized power in Niamey at the head of putschist soldiers, affirmed that there had been no arrests following the putsch, and that the Council national for the safeguard of the homeland (CNSP) had “abstained from any repressive action”.
The France Médias Monde group denounced in a press release on Thursday the interruption of RFI and France 24, “a decision taken outside any conventional and legal framework” a week after the coup.
In 2022, “1.9 million listeners (18% of the population) listened to the radio each week in the country”, broadcast on 7 FM relays, while a quarter of the Nigerien population followed the programs of France 24, detailed France Media World.
Since the July 26 coup that overthrew the elected president Mohamed Bazoum, sequestered for eight days, relations with Paris have deteriorated. Incidents on Sunday during a demonstration in front of the French Embassy led to the evacuation of more than 500 French people. “France reaffirms its constant and determined commitment to freedom of the press, freedom of expression and the protection of journalists (…)”, added the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its press release.
