Mali’s High Communications Authority (HAC) suspended French channels LCI and TF 1, accusing them of “unverified statements and untruths” related to jihadists in this Sahelian country, according to a decision taken this Friday by AFP.
“LCI and TF 1 television services are removed from the packages of all sound or television broadcasting service distributors in Mali, until further notice, from the date of signing this decision” HAC dated Thursday. LCI and TF 1 were no longer accessible in Mali as of Thursday evening, an AFP journalist said.
Mali, ruled by a military regime following a coup between 2020 and 2022, took repressive measures against the press, suspending access or broadcasting to some media – especially foreign media – and silencing or imprisoning journalists and other critical voices. Correspondents from a number of foreign media outlets were forced to leave, go into exile or remain silent due to lack of permits to work.
According to HAC, LCI broadcast “a 12.24 minute sequence taken from the Grand Dossier program on Sunday 9 November 2025 at 13.00, structured in two parts: Mali, the jihadists at the gates of Bamako and Mali, the new stronghold of Al-Qaeda”. This sequence was “picked up by TF 1 on its web page” on the same day, according to him.
“Untruth”
However, according to Mali’s media regulator, the report contained “unverified statements and untruths” mainly related to accusations that “the junta has banned the sale of fuel” or that “terrorists are now on the verge of razing the capital” Bamako.
He considers that the statements he is accused of constitute a “clear violation of the code of ethics for journalists in Mali which requires them to respect the truth”. The sequence in question presents “an alarming note that predicts the imminent collapse of the Malian state, anything that fuels panic or distrust of institutions and (harms) social cohesion”, HAC argued.
LCI was suspended at the end of August 2024 “for similar violations” with new allegations, which HAC said constituted “aggravating circumstances”. French public channel France 2 was also temporarily suspended in early 2024. Both suspensions in late August and early August have since been lifted. And the public French-language channel, TV5 Monde, was suspended in mid-May “until further notice” after the military accused the channel of lacking neutrality in opposition demonstrations. He has been suspended for three months by the junta in 2024.
Several French media such as France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI), which are widely followed in Mali, have been permanently suspended. The army that ousted civilian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in 2020 broke alliances with France and its European partners in 2022, and turned militarily and politically toward Moscow.
