Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France: interior ministry revokes journalists’ accreditations without explanation

Nearly 2,500 journalists were accredited to cover Pope Leo XIV's visit to France from 25 to 28 September 2026, particularly in the capital, Paris and the town of Lourdes. However, RSF documented at least three reporters who were denied access to the events at the last minute. In each of these cases, accreditation had been granted and collected by the journalists, only to be revoked the day before or the day of the event, following an "administrative screening" conducted by officials from the Ministry of the Interior.

For the Pope's visit, which was under heavy security, accreditation requests were processed by Publicis Consultants, a public relations agency commissioned by the Diocese of Paris, before being subjected to an administrative security screening - a procedure required for access to certain major events. On the morning of Friday, 25 September, at least three journalists were informed by telephone by Publicis Consultants that their accreditation had been revoked at the request of the Ministry of the Interior. When contacted by RSF, the agency stated that it had been notified of this request by other partners organising the papal visit before it informed the journalists concerned.

One of these reporters was freelance journalist Enzo Rabouy, who had obtained and picked up his press pass without difficulty to cover the papal visit to Paris on the afternoon and evening of 25 September for the Qatari online outlet AJ+. A few hours before the event, he learned that he would ultimately not be allowed to attend. Chloé Rébillard, the correspondent covering southwestern France for the French daily Libération - who had been called in as backup - and Angéline Desdevises, a photojournalist with the photo agency Hans Lucas, had also obtained their accreditation to cover the event in Lourdes, where the Pope was expected on 26 and 27 September. Angéline Desdevises had picked up her accreditation at the Sanctuary of Lourdes on Thursday, 24 September, before being notified the next day by Publicis Consultants that it had been revoked. The Sanctuary of Lourdes, which is responsible for the practical management of on-site accreditations, told RSF that it had only learned of the revocation from the photojournalist herself.

According to RSF's information, none of the three journalists received written notification of the revocation of their accreditation, which raises questions. Under the regulations governing "major events" set forth in the French Internal Security Code, when an organiser denies access to a person based on the opinion of an administrative authority, the organiser must inform that person "by any means that allows a copy of the information to be retained." The Ministry of the Interior did not respond to RSF's request for comment.

In June 2026, Maxime Sirvins, a journalist and photographer for the independent media outlet Politis, also had his accreditation revoked to cover Eurosatory, a global defence and security exhibition, following an unfavourable opinion from the Ministry of the Interior. The journalist submitted a request for a référé-liberté procedure - a type of emergency injunction under French law - to the Paris administrative court, which subsequently suspended the decision, ruling that it constituted a "serious and manifestly illegal violation of freedom of expression and the freedom to work."