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France has confirmed that it assisted Benin’s security forces in preventing a coup attempt over the weekend, underlining Paris’ involvement in a broader regional response to the latest bid to overthrow an elected government in West Africa.
An aide to President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that France acted at the request of the Beninese authorities, providing support that included surveillance, monitoring and logistical assistance to the country’s armed forces. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Macron personally led coordination efforts by contacting several regional leaders as the crisis unfolded.
On Sunday, a group of soldiers seized Benin’s national television station and declared that President Patrice Talon had been removed from power. The announcement was later overturned as loyalist forces regained control, aided by military intervention from neighbouring Nigeria, which reportedly carried out targeted strikes in Cotonou and deployed troops.
The failed takeover comes amid heightened instability across West Africa, a region that has experienced a wave of military coups in recent years and a corresponding decline in French influence. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — all former French colonies — have each seen their governments toppled, resulting in the withdrawal of French troops once deployed to fight jihadist violence.
Macron is said to have spoken directly with Talon and with the leaders of Nigeria and Sierra Leone, which currently chairs the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). According to the French presidency, the attempted coup was treated with utmost seriousness, with Macron expressing strong condemnation and relief that the plot did not succeed.
ECOWAS announced that troops from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone were being deployed to Benin to help safeguard constitutional order. The bloc’s president, Omar Alieu Touray, warned that West Africa is facing an emergency situation, citing both the resurgence of military takeovers and the growing jihadist threat.
France has pledged political backing to ECOWAS’ response, although it refrained from military action during Niger’s 2023 coup, which deposed France ally Mohamed Bazoum.
Beninese authorities said by Monday that all hostages had been freed and at least a dozen suspects were in custody. Talon later addressed the nation, assuring citizens that security had been fully restored and that the country remained under control.
The president, who is serving his second and final term, is due to step down in April in line with constitutional limits.
Former Beninese leader Thomas Boni Yayi condemned the attempt, describing it as an attack on democracy. In a statement shared online, he insisted that leadership change must come through “free and transparent elections” rather than violence or force.
