Summary
- Luis Tato won the 2026 Visa d’or News Roger Thérond award on September 5.
- The report covers Madagascar’s Gen Z protests in autumn 2025.
- The AFP photojournalist spent weeks embedded with demonstrators.
- The award carries an €8,000 prize funded by Paris Match.
AFP’s Luis Tato won the 2026 Visa d’or News Roger Thérond award for his coverage of Madagascar’s Gen Z protests in autumn 2025.
In Antananarivo, a student holds a black flag bearing the One Piece emblem as other protesters move behind him. Tato photographed him on October 9, 2025, during clashes with security forces. The image is part of the report honoured on September 5, 2026, at Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan.
His work records a youth movement that mobilised online, drew people from different social classes and helped drive President Andry Rajoelina from power. The photographer spent weeks in the country, following the course of events from the demonstrations to military intervention.
The One Piece flag amid the clashes
In the October 9 photograph, the figure wearing a straw hat dominates the foreground. The emblem from the Japanese manga, adopted by Gen Z movements in different countries, connects the demonstration with this generation’s cultural references. That day’s demands included constitutional reforms and Rajoelina’s resignation.
Tato describes this international wave of young people as an effort to redefine democracy and change the conditions in which they live. His personal connection to the story and sustained presence allowed him to get close to demonstrators. He also gained access to officials as the political crisis unfolded.
Political upheaval and the military
A second photograph, taken on October 14, 2025, shows soldiers from the CAPSAT unit aboard an armoured vehicle as they leave the presidential palace in Antananarivo. According to AFP, the elite unit announced that day that it had taken power, following the National Assembly’s vote to impeach the president for desertion of duty.
The AFP video, published on October 1, 2025, records demonstrations at an earlier stage of the crisis, after Rajoelina dismissed his government. The protests continued despite his decision.
Weeks in the field, not just one striking frame
Claudia Rahola, AFP’s deputy news director in charge of photography, highlighted the dangerous conditions in which Tato worked. The agency’s global news director, Phil Chetwynd, also connected the award with the work of the entire AFP East Africa team.
“Madagascar’s Gen Z Protests” had already been recognised in the Africa Stories category at World Press Photo 2026. The new award recognises the same photographic story through a different organisation.
Who is Luis Tato?
The 37-year-old Spanish photojournalist is based in Nairobi, Kenya. He joined AFP in 2023 and is now its chief photographer and photo coordinator for East Africa and the Indian Ocean. In 2018 he won the Visa d’or for Best Young Reporter; 2026 marks his first win in the News category.
He is the sixth AFP photojournalist to win the Visa d’or News, following Georges Gobet in 2003, Bülent Kılıç in 2015, Aris Messinis in 2016 for his coverage of refugees and migrants arriving on Lesbos, Guillermo Arias in 2019 and Mahmud Hams in 2024. This year’s award carries an €8,000 prize, funded by Paris Match for the second time.
What we think
The report’s strength lies in bringing youthful protest and military power into the same story. Tato followed the crisis long enough to record both, creating a political account built around people, symbols and specific moments of change.
Frequently asked questions
Which story won Luis Tato the 2026 Visa d’or News award?
The AFP photojournalist was recognised for covering Madagascar’s Gen Z protests in autumn 2025. He spent weeks in the country documenting the demonstrations and political upheaval.
When was the award presented, and what is the prize?
The 2026 Visa d’or News Roger Thérond award was presented on September 5 at Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan. It carries an €8,000 prize funded by Paris Match.
What does the photograph with the One Piece flag show?
A student holds a flag bearing the One Piece emblem during clashes with security forces in Antananarivo on October 9, 2025. That day, protesters were demanding constitutional reforms and Andry Rajoelina’s resignation.
