A seat is being left empty in the press box at every France game at the 2026 World Cup to highlight the imprisonment of French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes.
Gleizes has been held in Algeria since 2024 and was sentenced in 2025 to seven years in prison after being convicted of supporting terrorism.
French journalists’ unions have called on Algeria to release Gleizes, who specialises in African football for the Paris-based So Foot magazine.
He was originally detained in May 2024 after travelling to Algeria to write an article about club JSK, based in Tizi Ouzou.
Gleizes was subsequently found guilty of holding exchanges with a proponent of self-determination for Algeria’s Kabyle minority, a charge that has drawn widespread condemnation from press freedom advocates.
Representatives from around 40 French media outlets responded to his sentencing by declaring that “the imprisonment of a journalist for carrying out his profession is a red line that must never be crossed.”
His mother Sylvie has made the journey to the United States to attend the tournament and personally draw attention to her son’s ongoing detention.
She told BBC Sport that Gleizes’ accreditation for the tournament was personally approved by Fifa president Gianni Infantino, and that her son felt “cut off” from the world.
On Monday, journalists held up scarves reading ‘Free Gleizes’ ahead of France manager Didier Deschamps’ news conference at the New Jersey New York Stadium before Tuesday’s group game against Senegal.
Journalist Vincent Duluc of French daily sports newspaper L’Equipe put a question to Deschamps on behalf of Gleizes, asking about hydration breaks during matches.
Deschamps responded warmly to the gesture, saying “I hope for his sake and his family’s that he can be here as soon as possible and ask his questions himself.”
As well as the empty seat in the press box at matches, a chair at each France news conference is also being left vacant as a symbolic reminder of his absence.
The campaign has united French media in a rare show of solidarity, with journalists across different outlets continuing to push for his release throughout the tournament.
