France has confirmed that it assisted Benin’s security forces in preventing a coup attempt over the weekend, marking another major international response to growing instability in West Africa.
According to an aide to President Emmanuel Macron, France acted at the request of Beninese authorities, providing surveillance, monitoring and logistical support as the plot unfolded.
The aide, who spoke anonymously, said Macron personally coordinated with several regional leaders throughout the crisis.
The attempted takeover began on Sunday when a group of soldiers seized Benin’s national television station and announced that President Patrice Talon had been removed from power.
Loyalist forces quickly regained control, supported by military intervention from neighbouring Nigeria, which reportedly conducted targeted strikes in Cotonou and deployed troops to secure key locations. The coup collapsed within hours.
The failed plot comes amid increasing instability in West Africa, where Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have all experienced military takeovers in recent years developments that have also weakened France’s influence in the region.
Unlike during Niger’s 2023 coup, when France refrained from military involvement, Paris has now moved to show firmer support for constitutional order in Benin.
The French presidency confirmed that Macron spoke directly with Talon as well as with the leaders of Nigeria and Sierra Leone, which currently chairs ECOWAS.
The regional bloc announced that troops from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone were being deployed to Benin to help safeguard democratic institutions and prevent renewed unrest.
ECOWAS president Omar Alieu Touray warned that the region is facing an emergency marked by recurring coups and a growing jihadist threat.
Beninese authorities said by Monday that all hostages had been freed and at least a dozen suspects arrested.
President Talon later addressed the nation, assuring citizens that order had been fully restored and that the country remained under firm control.
Talon, who is serving his second and final term, is expected to leave office in April 2026 in compliance with constitutional limits.
Former president Thomas Boni Yayi condemned the attempted coup, calling it an attack on democracy and reaffirming that leadership change must come only through free, fair and transparent elections.