France assisted Benin’s authorities in foiling a coup attempt over the weekend, an aide to President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday, confirming France’s involvement in a wider regional effort to stop the latest bid to seize power in West Africa.
According to the aide, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, Macron coordinated the response by engaging key regional leaders in the aftermath of Sunday’s failed coup attempt.
The aide explained that France, acting at the request of the Beninese government, provided “surveillance, observation and logistical support” to the Benin Armed Forces. Further details on the specific nature of the support were not immediately disclosed.
The attempted coup unfolded on Sunday when a group of soldiers seized Benin’s national television station and announced they had removed President Patrice Talon from office.
However, loyalist forces swiftly regained control with support from neighbouring Nigeria, which carried out military strikes in Cotonou and deployed troops to repel the mutineers.
West Africa has experienced a wave of coups in recent years, undermining French influence in its former colonies. Mali witnessed coups in 2020 and 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Niger in 2023, prompting the withdrawal of French troops previously deployed for anti-jihadist operations.
A successful coup in Benin, also a former French colony, would have further weakened France’s position in the region. Meanwhile, Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, suffered a coup in November after elections, leading to military authorities taking power.
The situation in Benin “caused serious concern for the president (Macron), who unequivocally condemned this attempt at destabilisation, which fortunately failed,” the aide said.
Macron held discussions with President Talon, as well as leaders of Nigeria and Sierra Leone the current chair of ECOWAS as part of the coordinated response.
ECOWAS has announced that troops from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone will be deployed to Benin to help safeguard constitutional order.
“Our community is in a state of emergency,” ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray said on Tuesday, citing the twin threats of jihadist activities and recurring coups.
Although ECOWAS threatened military intervention during Niger’s 2023 coup that deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, a Macron ally, it ultimately did not carry out an operation. France also refrained from intervening.
“France has offered its full political support to ECOWAS, which made a very significant effort this weekend,” Macron’s aide noted.
By Monday, loyalist military sources said at least a dozen coup plotters had been arrested, and all hostages, including senior officers, had been freed.
President Talon appeared on television late Sunday to assure citizens that the situation was “completely under control.” Talon, 67, is expected to complete his second and final term in April, after years marked by rising jihadist attacks in northern Benin.
Former Beninese president Thomas Boni Yayi also condemned the attempted coup on Tuesday. Boni Yayi, whose opposition Democrats party has been barred from next year’s presidential election, described the attack as “bloody and shameful.”
He stressed that the transfer of power must always be guided by “the ballot box, the people, and free and transparent elections,” in a video message posted on Facebook.