On Monday, Paris "deplored" the suspension of Radio France Internationale (RFI) decided on Saturday by the military authorities in Burkina Faso, who accuse it of relaying an "intimidating message" attributed to a "terrorist leader."
"France deplores the decision taken by the Burkinabe transitional authorities to suspend RFI's broadcasts," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Paris "reaffirms its constant and determined commitment to freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and the protection of journalists and all those whose expression contributes to free and pluralistic information and public debate throughout the world."
Early last week, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM, affiliated with Al-Qaeda) released a video in which one of its leaders in Burkina Faso threatened to attack villages defended by Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP), civilian auxiliaries to the army, which has just recruited 90,000 in three weeks to deal with the resurgence of jihadist attacks.
The government also criticizes RFI, the French public radio station, for repeating in its Friday press review "false information, stating that: 'The transitional president, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, claims that an attempted coup was aimed at his power.
According to RFI management, the radio station is listened to every week in Burkina Faso "by more than 40% of the population and more than 70% of opinion leaders."
Burkina Faso, which has seen two military coups in eight months and has been plagued by jihadist violence since 2015, is the second country in the region to ban RFI this year after Mali, which is also ruled by military coup leaders and is also plagued by attacks from jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.
AFP press release