Mali’s media regulator has banned the French television channel TV5 Monde from broadcasting in the country, accusing it of spreading false and defamatory information about a recent protest in the capital, Bamako.
In a statement released Tuesday, the High Authority for Communication (HAC) said the decision followed comments made by a TV5 Monde news anchor, who claimed that “hundreds of security forces were mobilized to prevent demonstrators from accessing” the Palais de la Culture during a May 3 rally. The regulator disputed this account, stating that security forces were deployed to ensure the safety of the protestors, not to block access.
TV5 Monde has not yet issued a public response to the ban.
This move marks the latest in a series of media restrictions by the Malian authorities. French outlets France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI) have been banned since 2022, and in December 2024, local broadcaster Djoliba TV News was suspended for six months after airing a debate that questioned official narratives about a failed coup in neighboring Burkina Faso.
Mali, currently under military rule following a 2021 coup, is part of the Alliance of Sahel States—an alliance formed with fellow junta-led governments in Burkina Faso and Niger. The group has grown increasingly critical of foreign media and Western influence in the region.