France

Paris, September 22, 2026. The French press first notes the unprecedented scale of the professional backlash triggered by the exclusion of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House. On Friday, Donald Trump announced that he would immediately "lock" access to these three media outlets, accused of "spreading false information"; the very next day, Saturday, September 19, accredited journalists, including Betsy Klein (CNN) and Akayla Gardner (MS NOW), were turned away at the entrance, their badges deactivated. On Monday, September 21, a double blow: the three banned media outlets announced that they would take legal action "to defend our rights in the name of the First Amendment and the principle that the government does not decide what the press publishes," according to their joint statement cited by Le Monde and BFMTV. On the same day, a rare move noted by several titles as a "spectacular decision," the other four channels in the presidential pool, CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox, announced that they would stop providing filmed coverage of the president in support of their evicted competitor. "It is vital for the general public to receive correct and independent information about the government. No administration should restrict access to a press organization because it disagrees with its coverage," the five channels wrote in a statement relayed by the AFP and cited by Le Monde. A concrete consequence highlighted by the newspaper: the inauguration of a helicopter platform at the White House on Monday was not broadcast on television. On Truth Social, Donald Trump denied "waging an offensive against the free press," claiming to be targeting "FALSE INFORMATION, something that has spread like cancer," which he considers "a threat to our national security." Vice President JD Vance, for his part, described these media outlets as "far-left propaganda," according to a video broadcast by BFMTV. The White House Correspondents Association had denounced the measure on Saturday as "infringing on the First Amendment." The French press emphasizes the symbolic significance of the solidarity between competing channels, more than the still uncertain judicial outcome of the complaint filed.