The apprehension in mid-August 2026 and subsequent formal incarceration this Monday, August 17, of two French filmmakers and journalists in Togo marks a significant escalation in the security and diplomatic tensions emanating from the Lomé regime.
Sébastien Perez Pezzani and Gaël Mocaër, who were taken into custody in the northern part of the country while engaged in filming a documentary, have since been formally charged and placed under a detention order. This incident transcends the realm of a simple administrative infraction, quickly assuming a profoundly political dimension.
The administrative guise of security control
To justify the detention of these two media professionals, Togolese authorities cite alleged non-compliance with accreditation procedures and a breach of visa conditions:
- A region under intense scrutiny: Northern Togo, a zone frequently impacted by incursions from armed groups originating in the Sahel, operates under a state of security emergency. Here, authorities enforce stringent information control, prohibiting any unsupervised reporting activities.
- The Thomas Dietrich precedent: This approach strikingly mirrors the arrest and swift expulsion of French journalist Thomas Dietrich in April 2024. It underscores Lomé’s almost paranoid distrust of the foreign press, which is often viewed as a potential destabilizing influence.
Is Ferdinand Ayité a bargaining chip?
Beyond the strict application of legal statutes, numerous observers and independent media outlets interpret this arrest as a strategic pressure tactic employed by Lomé against Paris:
- Pursuit of exiled dissidents: The regime led by Faure Gnassingbé appears to be leveraging the detention of the two French nationals to extract concessions from French diplomacy. This is notably in relation to Togolese investigative journalist Ferdinand Ayité, who is currently seeking refuge in France and remains a persistent target of the ruling power.
- A diplomacy of media hostages: By keeping these filmmakers behind bars, Lomé is seemingly attempting to alter the balance of power with France, albeit at the risk of further damaging its international reputation.
Press freedom stifled in Togo
By targeting international journalists, following its systematic suppression of the local independent press, the Vᵉ République regime reaffirms its unwavering determination to dictate the national narrative. While diplomatic channels are discreetly working to secure the release and repatriation of the two filmmakers, this affair casts a harsh light on the tactics of a government seemingly prepared to wield deprivation of liberty as a political bargaining tool.