• Mali’s media regulator has suspended TV5 Monde, citing biased reporting on a protest.
• The decision follows earlier bans on other French media amid rising pressure on foreign outlets.
• On the same day, the ruling junta also dissolved political parties and banned public gatherings.

The French news channel TV5 Monde will no longer be available in Mali as of now. The broadcaster has been suspended "until further notice" following a May 9 decision, made public yesterday by the country’s media regulator, the High Authority for Communication (HAC).

The regulator accused TV5 Monde of airing “biased and unbalanced coverage” of a recent protest in Bamako, during which an opposition coalition called for the end of Mali’s transitional government.

According to HAC, the report included defamatory content targeting the country’s security and defense forces, and failed to present all sides of the story. For instance, the regulator said the police were deployed to protect demonstrators, but the channel’s coverage framed them as a threat.

This is not the first time TV5 Monde has faced sanctions in Mali. The channel was previously suspended for three months in 2024. The new ban reflects a broader crackdown on foreign media, particularly French outlets.

Since March 2022, Mali has banned both RFI and France 24, accusing them of breaching journalistic ethics and serving as propaganda tools for France. The authorities also temporarily suspended France 2 and LCI, the 24-hour news channel of the TF1 Group, last year.

Let’s note that, shortly after the TV5 Monde suspension was announced, the Malian government ordered the dissolution of all political parties and banned public gatherings, further tightening its grip on civil society.

In the latest World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders, Mali dropped four places and now ranks 119th worldwide.