France has acknowledged that it supplied surveillance, reconnaissance support, and logistical backing to Benin’s military in response to the attempted coup that unfolded last weekend.
A statement from the Élysée on Tuesday said President Emmanuel Macron personally coordinated with Beninese President Patrice Talon and engaged with leaders of ECOWAS as the situation developed.
ECOWAS confirmed that it activated a regional standby force composed of troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Sierra Leone—an unusually swift move that underscores growing regional anxiety over repeated military takeovers in West Africa.
The crisis erupted on Sunday when a faction of soldiers, identifying themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, seized Benin’s state television broadcaster to declare a coup. Within hours, the government claimed the attempt had been suppressed.
Benin’s authorities later reported that there were casualties during the confrontation, though they did not provide precise figures, and said several soldiers had been detained. The alleged ringleader, Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri—previously part of Talon’s security team—remains at large, raising questions about internal loyalty within the military.
France, eager to project continued relevance in West African security affairs amid declining regional influence, sharply condemned what it called an attempt to destabilize Benin and publicly reaffirmed its full political backing for ECOWAS.
