'Forced to leave India': Delhi-based French journalist claims denial of work permit

French journalist Sébastien Farcis on Thursday (June 20) alleged that he was compelled to return to France after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs denied him the permit to work as a journalist.

Farcis had been working in India as a South Asia correspondent for the past 13 years. Upset over the move, he called it an “incomprehensible censorship”. He had been working for Radio France Internationale, Radio France, Libration and the Swiss and Belgian public radios.

“After 13 years of working as a correspondent in India, the authorities have denied me a permit to work as a journalist. I have thus been forced to leave the country,” Farcis wrote on X, revealing that he left India on June 17.

No reason provided

“Three months ago, on 7th March, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) denied the renewal of my journalist permit, preventing me from practising my profession and depriving me of all my income. No reason has been provided to justify this work ban, despite formal and repeated requests made to the MHA. I have tried to appeal also, but to no avail so far,” he added.

Farcis claimed he had all the necessary visas and accreditations. “I have respected the regulations imposed in India for foreign journalists and never worked in restricted or protected areas without a permit,” he said.

The French journalist said this work ban came as a shock to him, particularly in light of the fact that the MHA had allowed him to report even in the border areas on several occasions. He said he got to know about it on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections, which he was “forbidden” to cover.

Talking about how the move has affected his family, Farcis said he was married to an Indian woman and held an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status. He alleged that he was being asked to leave without any reason. “I am therefore deeply attached to India, which has become my second homeland. But with no more work nor income, my family has been pushed out of India without explanation, and uprooted overnight for no apparent reason.”

Not the first one

Farcis is the second French journalist to be denied permission to report in India this year.

In February, Vanessa Dougnac, a South Asia correspondent for 23 years, claimed that her OCI card was cancelled by the MHA for creating a “biased negative perception” of India through her work.

Farcis said, “This denial comes in a worrying context of increasing restrictions on the work of foreign journalists: after Vanessa Dougnac, I am the second French journalist in four months having to leave India under these conditions. At least five OCl foreign correspondents have been banned from working as journalists in less than two years.”

Farcis disclosed that he applied for a new permit to work in India, and he hoped it would be accepted. “In the meantime, as I am not able to work, I am forced to return to France.”