Tentative de coup d'État au Bénin, la présidence dit garder le contrôle
President Talon was due to hand over the reins of this small West African coastal country, which has solid economic growth but is plagued by jihadist violence in its northern part, next April during a presidential election.
West Africa has experienced numerous coups d'état since the beginning of the decade, in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea and more recently, at the end of November, in Guinea-Bissau.
On Sunday, a group of soldiers calling themselves the "Military Committee for Refoundation" (CMR) claimed to have "dismissed" Mr. Talon on Beninese public television, whose signal was cut off later that morning.
Shortly after the announcement by these soldiers, a source close to Patrice Talon told AFP that the president was safe and that the army was regaining control.
"This is a small group of people who only have television. The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are totally secure," said the source.
The French embassy reported on X Sunday morning that "gunfire was reported near the home of the President of the Republic" in Cotonou, and called on French citizens to stay home "as a security measure."
A military source confirmed that the situation was "under control" and that the coup plotters had not taken "either the home of the head of state" or "the presidency of the Republic."
"It's only a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The cleanup is progressing well," the source continued.
The political history of Benin has been marked by several coups d'état or attempted coups.
Patrice Talon, in power since 2016, is due to reach the end of his second term in 2026, the maximum allowed by the Constitution.
The main opposition party is excluded from the race that will pit the ruling party against a so-called "moderate" opponent.
Although praised for Benin's economic development, Patrice Talon is regularly accused by his detractors of having taken an authoritarian turn in a country once lauded for the dynamism of its democracy.
Commentaires (21)
Depuis que l’Afrique est l’Afrique aucun pays n’a réussi à se développer ou se stabiliser grâce aux coups d’Etzt c’est un mal à combattre car une fois les putschistes au pouvoir ils ne voudront plus jamais partir
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