French journalist describes India’s permit denial as a ‘slap in the face’  

FILE - The headquarters of French national audiovisual media company group, France Medias Monde (FMM), which includes Radio France Internationale (RFI), at Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, April 9, 2019.

A French journalist forced to leave India after authorities declined to renew his journalism permit has described the action as “a slap in the face.” Sébastien Farcis, a correspondent for European outlets including Radio France Internationale, is the third foreign journalist this year who says they had to leave the country over visa or work permit issues. Media watchdogs and analysts have questioned whether the denied visa renewals are part of a broader effort by India’s government to silence critical foreign journalists. Without a valid permit, Farcis told VOA, he was unable to work and so had no option but to leave India while filing a fresh application. The reporter said he has not received an explanation about why the permit was not renewed. Farcis, who has worked in India for 13 years, said he was informed of the decision the day before India’s elections, and that the action prevented him from covering the vote. Speaking to VOA via email, Farcis told VOA he was shocked. “It felt like a slap in the face, as I have invested 13 years of my life in this country, and felt so close to it as I married an Indian woman,” he said. “There was no warning nor explanation about it, just a line over email saying the permit was DENIED, in capital. It was violent and felt like a censorship.”