Niger junta suspends 10 French media bodies

Junta-run Niger on Friday suspended some 10 media organisations from former colonial ruler France, saying they threatened public order.

A statement read on state TV listed France 24, RFI, France Afrique Media, LSI Africa, AFP, TV5 Monde, TF1 Info, Jeune Afrique and Mediapart among the bodies suspended.

Anti‑French sentiment runs high in some former African colonies as the continent becomes a renewed diplomatic battleground, with Russian and Chinese influence growing.

Once master of vast expanses of northern, central and western Africa, France has played a crucial role in the continent’s post‑colonial history, repeatedly intervening militarily since the early 1960s.

French forces deployed in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger withdrew following successive coups, as the juntas in those countries drew closer to Russia.