Benin coup attempt to oust President Talon foiled by loyalist troops, minister says

Benin’s interior minister has appeared on national TV to announce that an attempted coup in the West Africa nation has been thwarted.

Earlier, a group of soldiers, led by Lt-Col Pascal Tigri, had made a broadcast saying they had ousted President Patrice Talon and suspended the constitution.

In social media posts, the French embassy in Benin said gunfire had been reported near the residence of the president in the main city of Cotonou, which is the seat of government. Eyewitnesses told the BBC that they had heard gunshots and some journalists working for the state broadcaster were held hostage.

A presidential adviser has since told the BBC that the president is safe and is at the French embassy.

“Early on Sunday morning, 7 December 2025, a small group of soldiers launched a mutiny aimed at destabilising the state and its institutions,” Interior Minister Alassane Seidou said

“Faced with this situation, the Beninese armed forces and their leadership, true to their oath, remained committed to the republic. Their response allowed them to retain control of the situation and foil the attempt,” he said.

“The government therefore urges the population to go about their activities as normal.”

Helicopters have been seen flying over Cotonou and roads are blocked with a heavy military presence on several streets in the city.

Benin, a former French colony, has been regarded as one of Africa’s more stable democracies.

It is one of the continent’s largest cotton producers, but ranks among the world’s poorest countries.

The French and Russian embassies have urged their citizens to stay indoors for their safety.

The US embassy’s advice was to stay away from Cotonou, especially the area around the presidential compound.

The soldiers leading the attempted coup justified their actions by criticising President Talon’s management of the country.

“The army solemnly commits to give the Beninese people the hope of a truly new era, where fraternity, justice and work prevail,” said a statement read by one of the soldiers.

Talon, who is 67 and regarded as a close ally of the West, is due to step down next year after completing his second term in office, with elections scheduled for April.

A businessman known as the “king of cotton”, he first came to power in an election in 2016. He promised not to seek a third term and has endorsed Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as his successor.

Talon has been praised by supporters for overseeing economic development, but his government has also come in for criticism for suppressing dissenting voices.

In October the electoral commission barred the main opposition candidate from standing on the grounds that he did not have enough sponsors.

Last month, several constitutional amendments were passed by MPs, including the creation of a second parliamentary chamber, the Senate.

Terms of office for elected officials were extended from five to seven years, but the presidential two-term limit remained in place.

This coup attempt in Benin comes just over a week after Umaro Sissoco Embaló was overthrown as president in nearby Guinea-Bissau.

In recent years, there have been several coups in West Africa, including in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger, heightening fears that the security of the region could worsen.

Russia has strengthened its ties with these Sahel countries over recent years – and Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have left the West African regional bloc Ecowas to form their own group, the Alliance of Sahel States.

According to BBC Monitoring, news of the coup attempt was hailed by several pro-Russian influencer accounts on social media.

Benin has seen a rise in jihadist activity in recent years, as groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda spread to the south.

Ecowas and the African Union (AU) have condemned the latest coup attempt in Benin.

AU Commission chair Mahmoud Ali Yousouf reiterated the pan-African organisation’s “zero tolerance stance toward any unconstitutional change of government, regardless of context or justification”.

“He warns that these trends erode citizens’ trust in public institutions, weaken state authority, and endanger collective security,” the AU statement said.